Behind Bars 3: Broken Toys
by soiknowwhentoduck
Summary: The Behind Bars series continues with an emotionally rough case meaning Danny needs Steve more than ever, but Steve has his own issues to deal with when he catches a thief at his garage and both boys have to cope with the fall out. Danny's insomnia and anger issues come to the fore, and he worries that this could damage what he has with his lover - Updates to occur every other day
1. Backseat Driver

Steve blinked awake in the sunlight filtering through the curtains of their bedroom window. Danny wasn't lying next to him, which was confusing for two reasons: firstly, it was nine in the morning on a Saturday and his fiancé didn't do mornings, especially on weekends, and secondly it was Steve's birthday and he'd at least been hoping for some 'good morning' sex.

He sat up when Danny opened the door into the room and leaned against the door jamb. It looked like the detective had already been up and dressed for a while, as Steve observed his shoes and the house keys in his hand.

"Where have you been?"

It was so rare for Danny to forgo his usual lay in, and he wondered what was going on.

"I've just been to pick up part two of your birthday present," the Jersey man smiled, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Part two?" Steve pulled himself to sit upright, "What's part one?"

Danny slung his hips a little as he closed the distance between them, leaned down over his lover and pressed their lips together. His tongue met Steve's as they both opened to one another, and the blonde dropped his keys on the bed before sliding his fingers into the ex-con's hair and tugging a little. Steve's hands disappeared under Danny's t-shirt to caress his skin, and the kiss turned even more heated, to the point where they were both panting when they pulled apart.

"Mmm... _That_ was part one," the cop sighed, grabbing the keys up again and forcing himself to stand up straight and back away, however much he wanted to continue. He couldn't go any further, not yet, because the best bit was still to come.

Steve looked slightly annoyed. "Is that it?"

"Get dressed," Danny chuckled and headed for the door, but the taller man was out of bed in a split second, grasping his wrist and spinning him around before backing him into the wall.

"It's my birthday," he bit at his fiancé's neck and made him gasp, "I want _more_ than a kiss..."

Danny squirmed against him, wanting so much to give in. He could feel the tattooed man's hard cock through his boxers and Danny's jeans, and it would be so easy just to drop to his knees...

"No," he said as firmly as he could, struggling with the next word like he really didn't want to say it, "Nngh... Pineapple."

The way Steve suddenly backed off at the use of their safe word warmed his heart, even if he did look confused. That was why he trusted him so much; however much the ex-con loved to dominate, he would stop at a moment's notice if asked to.

"Believe me, babe," Danny swept his hair back with one hand in a nervous gesture, feeling guilty at the rebuff even if it was only temporary, "Just get dressed and come through to the living room..."

Steve grumbled to himself as his lover sidled out from between his body and the wall, and left the room. That steamy kiss had sent electricity straight to his dick, and now he was being denied. The safe word had been used, and on his birthday too! So far his day was not shaping up well.

Usually his dominating tactics worked, so he was intrigued to know what the hell was going on to make Danny suddenly able to resist him. He threw on fresh underwear, jeans and a t-shirt, and slipped on some old sneakers before following his fiancé.

The blonde was standing in the middle of the front room, a pensive expression painting his face.

"Where's part two then?" Steve grumbled, wondering if he was going to actually get the one birthday present he really wanted: naked Danny Williams.

His still frustratingly fully-clothed lover bounced on the balls of his feet. "Part _three_ is malasadas and coffee at the beach... part _two_ is how we're gonna get there..."

The longer this mystery went on, the more confused the mechanic was getting. Danny looked excited, but he was fiddling nervously with his keys, energy practically shimmering off him like heat off metal.

The detective's heartbeat was in his mouth, because he was desperately hoping he'd done the right thing with the gift that he'd just brought back to the house from where it had been hidden nearby. His own birthday present from Steve a month beforehand had been fantastic and thrilling, and the way the whole thing kept replaying in his mind meant it was the gift that kept on giving.

So the last thing he wanted to do was bring up bad memories on his fiancé's birthday and ruin things, but from the discussions they'd had in recent months he was guessing Steve's reaction would be positive. If not, he'd do his best to make it up to him.

"Okay..." the brunette gave him a suspicious glare and headed for the front door, but Danny reached out and gestured towards the internal door to the garage.

"This way," he prompted, "Close your eyes."

Steve was guided through the door after Danny opened it, gentle hands on his hips nudging him forward and finally turning him on one particular spot until he was facing the right way. He heard the cop take a deep breath.

"Okay, open them."

He blinked for a second, taking in the sight presented to him.

A large, unfamiliar black car sat in their garage... at least it was unfamiliar at first glance. The straight lines and curves seemed to clarify in front of him, triggering some long-forgotten recognition. The smell of leather and turtle wax, the sounds of smooth jazz while his dad worked on his pride and joy, and Steve passing him wrenches and oil rags while he sat on the stool in the open garage doorway and kept an eye on Mary-Ann as she played across the yard.

"A Mercury Marquis..." he whispered in amazement, unable to speak any further.

He reached out and ran his fingers across the shiny chrome of the grill reverently. It wasn't in perfect condition; the car was obviously old and needed work doing, though he was a mechanic with his own garage so it was hardly a challenge. He could set his team on it and have it perfect within a day or two, but there was no way he was letting anyone else touch this beauty.

Danny knew him so well, knew he loved a project to get his teeth into. It was the most wonderful present he'd ever received, and his heart lodged in his throat.

When he eventually found his voice and managed to stifle his tears, he smiled affectionately at his lover. "My dad used to have one of these, a 1974 Marquis, same colour. He used to let me help him when he fixed her up. I guess that's why I like working on cars now, it's kinda cathartic in a way."

Danny's blue eyes met his, and the shorter man swallowed hard and looked a little hesitant. "Yeah I know, babe... This, uh... This _was_ your dad's car..."

The blonde honestly didn't know how Steve would react. He watched carefully as the ex-con's brow creased, and he turned back to the vehicle to gaze at it more intently. He moved tentatively around the car, trailing a hand over the paintwork and trims, touching the door handles, fingers tracing every little dent and scratch in the old beast, and all the while he was deathly silent. He paused over a particularly large dent in the wheel arch, remembering the exact accident that had caused it; his skateboard colliding with the paintwork at high velocity, his dad going nuts at him over the damage.

Danny was just on the verge of a full blown panic attack and wondering how he was going to make up for his bungled gift when Steve finished his slow three-sixty degree tour of the Marquis, coming to a stop a few inches away. He hadn't said a word, hadn't lifted his focus from the car for a second.

The Jersey man swallowed hard. "Babe?" he murmured quietly, as if he might scare the other man away.

Hazel eyes flicked up to him, and they were brimming with unshed tears. Shit, he's messed up. He'd upset Steve, brought back bad memories, made him think about loss when it should have been a wonderful day. What had he been thinking? Why the fuck didn't he just get the man a puppy like a normal person?

"Babe, I'm so so-" His apology was cut off as Steve leapt on him and crashed their lips together, arms encircling him tightly and squeezing until he couldn't breathe.

He was so stunned, he barely had a second to kiss his lover back before the mechanic was pulling away and gazing at him like he'd hung the moon.

"How?" Steve breathed out.

Danny stammered for a moment, finally registering the smile that was lifting the corners of the taller man's mouth and crinkling his eyes in that gorgeous way that made the cop's stomach do somersaults, and the fact that he'd actually asked Danny a question.

"Um, I, uh... Chin. Chin told me about your dad, and how he was always working on the car and..." He was released suddenly, almost stumbling, and Steve dashed to the driver side door and tugged it open to drop himself into the front seat. Danny followed him around and stood back to watch him caress the steering wheel and dashboard with his hands, eyes excited and wide.

"Everything was sold," the ex-con said absently, "The house, the car, everything Aunt Deb couldn't get transported with us to the mainland. It was all auctioned off..."

Danny nodded. "I looked up the records for the estate sale... I tracked it down for you. Chin helped me pick it up."

His lover looked up at him, hands still gripping the wheel like the car might disappear if he didn't keep hold of it. "And the owner was selling?"

The detective blushed a little and stuffed his hands in his pocket. "Well no, not at first... but then he's never met a Jersey boy before. We know how to talk the talk." He winked, and it made Steve's grin grow wider and his own heart twist at the sight.

The brunette stood, unfolding his tall frame from the Marquis and moving in towards Danny's body.

"You are _perfect_ ," he cupped the shorter man's chin, "I love you so much..."

The blonde gave him the most beautiful smile, a mixture of relief and joy and love on his features. It was like sunshine on an overcast day every time Steve saw it.

"Happy birthday, Steven."

A sly grin spread across the brunette's face. "You know, I always intended to borrow this car off my dad some day, maybe take it out for a spin with some lucky guy or girl... take it to prom, or something?"

The predatory glint in those hazel eyes made Danny's throat go dry. "Yeah?" he rasped.

Strong hands snuck onto his hips, and he was being guided a few steps backward so the mechanic could reach behind him and nudge the driver's door shut again. "Mm hm... I always had great things planned for the back seat of this car. Wanted to lose my virginity in it... Say... didn't _you_ lose your virginity in a car?" he asked the question with faux innocence, knowing damn well that Danny had indeed done exactly that.

He'd told Steve the story when they'd been locked up in isolation, a wall dividing them so they were unable to touch one another, but an open grill meaning they could still communicate. They had bonded that week, finally forced to talk about themselves to each other without distractions of the flesh... although Danny had still been able to put his wicked tongue to good use, with most nights culminating in dirty talk to keep them satisfied, and that had included them both telling each other about their first sexual experiences.

Steve edged his lover around further so Danny's back was to the car, never breaking his heated gaze, until he could reach the handle for the back door and yank it open none too gently.

The cop licked his lips. "Uh huh..."

"You mind retelling that little story for me, baby?" His voice was low and gruff now, and Danny felt a shiver run through him as his ass bumped against the cool metal behind him.

He finally regained the ability to speak when Steve broke the eye contact and kissed down the side of his face and over to his ear.

"I uh -oh fuck- she and I worked together at a diner on Saturdays... We were always flirting -god, Steve- she liked me a lot, she was cute... oh god..." It was rather hard to keep his concentration on the story when the tattooed man was nibbling on his ear lobe and kneading his ass the way he was, and he briefly lost his train of thought.

"So you took her to the car..." Steve prompted impatiently, though he was grinning as he hurried his lover along.

"It was my Pa's Ford, he let me borrow it... she thought it was hot that I could drive, said she wanted to go for a ride..." He gasped when sharp teeth made their way down his artery and the thick muscle that connected his neck and shoulder.

"And did you?" Steve mumbled into his skin.

"Made it half a block before she told me to pull over." The shorter man hummed happily when his fiancé sucked a mark into his collarbone, and he hooked his fingers into the mechanic's belt loops.

"And when you got her in the back seat, what did you take off her first? Her blouse? Her skirt?" Steve's hands slid under Danny's t-shirt and squeezed possessively.

"Mmm... her top and her bra..."

The cop took in a sharp breath when the ex-con's hands thrust upward, and he raised his arms so Steve could pull his t-shirt over his head and throw it over his shoulder. He bit his lip and watched under low eyelashes as his tanned god of a man stripped off his own top as well.

"Then her skirt and panties..." he purred, the heat in his lover's eyes making his skin itch as he waited for Steve to perform his own version of Danny's first time.

He loved how the mechanic seemed to want to take every inch of Danny for himself, not just physically but on a more spiritual level. He'd told the taller man about his first times, and almost immediately Steve had wanted to have Danny in the same manner as his first encounter with a guy – hard, up against a wall, rough and ready and violent. Steve had fucked him in his isolation cell that way, having been unable to stop thinking about the scenario from the point it left the Jersey man's lips.

And now Steve was thinking about the blonde's first time with a girl, and he wanted that experience for himself as well; taking those memories and giving him newer, better versions, this time full of him instead.

Danny had to grip the side of the car as his jeans and boxers were wrestled off his hips, stepping out of them along with his footwear, and gasped as his lover mouthed over his stomach when he stood again and popped the button on his own flies. Once he'd kicked the clothing away from their feet, his dark eyes were back on the shorter man, scanning down his naked body and making him feel all kinds of exposed. Danny curled his fingers tightly around the door trim as a shiver ran through his body.

"What position did you take her in, Danny?" Steve growled the words out, hands skimming feather-light over his fiancé's ribs.

"Uh... she climbed on top of me..."

The brunette already knew all the details, but he wanted to hear it all again; imagining teenage Danny in the back seat, some girl wriggling in his lap, him falling to pieces under her. He'd wanted that with the Marquis, never had the chance to fulfil that dream, and now Danny was going to give him that fantasy... and there was no one else he'd rather experience it with than his gorgeous, sexy, breathtakingly wonderful partner in crime. The man who had gone to so much trouble to bring him the perfect gift. The man who _was_ his perfect gift. The man he was going to marry.

Steve's hot breath skated over the skin under his ear as he spoke low against Danny's cheek. "You're going to show me what she did to you..."

Then Danny was grabbed hard by the arms, practically thrown into the back seat of the car, and manhandled into the tattooed man's lap so he was straddling his thighs in the middle of the seat, all the while being attacked by Steve's tongue and teeth like the man was a desperate wild thing and he was dinner.

Danny pressed their chests together, having to keep his neck bent and his head low because of the Marquis' roof height, and he used the opportunity to begin his own trail of fire down the mechanic's throat while Steve gripped his ass cheeks roughly and ground their hard cocks together.

"Fuck, Steve..." he whispered against the other man's skin, "I got her on top of me and I fingered her until she came. She fucking loved it..."

The brunette bit down on his shoulder hard, making him shudder and groan, but suddenly realised he'd arrived unprepared and had hit a stumbling block.

"Shit... lube..." he grumbled, dropping his head back against the seat.

Steve opened his eyes again when Danny chuckled to see a sly grin form on his lover's face.

"Whether it's because I was hopeful, or you're just predictable," he laughed and leaned over to shove his hand into the pocket in the back of the driver side seat, pulling out a bottle, "I made sure we were covered..."

Steve took the lube from him as the blonde tugged the rear door shut to seal them inside their own little world, and make the car feel even more intimate and private, regardless of the fact they were alone in the house. It made their breathing sound louder, bouncing off the glass and metal and leather surrounding them.

"Have I ever told you how unbelievably perfect you are, Danno?" he asked happily.

"Not nearly enough..." the detective bit at his lower lip as he initiated the kiss again, and Steve coated his fingers in the slippery gel before pulling Danny upward slightly and sliding his hand between his legs.

He pushed his index finger up into the cop, slowly at first so he could revel in the indecent moan that escaped Danny's mouth and was swallowed by his own. Steve worked his fiancé open, advancing to two fingers as he pressed bruises into Danny's thigh and ass cheek and hip and anywhere else he could grip hard while they kissed.

Danny tugged at Steve's hair to make him growl and intensify the rough way his man was owning his mouth. Their tongues glided over one another's and his other hand drifted to the ex-con's chest to seek out a nipple. He pinched hard and Steve roared, pulling back and grasping a handful of his hair so he could assault his throat with sharp teeth.

He had three fingers inside the blonde now, and Danny's hand moved to his other nipple to scrape his thumbnail over the hard nub. He was well aware they were sensitive when Steve was turned on, and was putting that knowledge to good use.

The mechanic couldn't handle waiting any longer, and he gripped Danny's hips as he moved him into position.

He pressed upward slightly, just enough for the head of his cock to push against the detective's hole. "Do to me what she did to you..."

The blonde sank down onto his lover's dick slowly, his back arching as much as he could in the restricted space. He gave himself a second to adjust to the stretch while Steve moaned and panted underneath him, and then lifted himself up to find the perfect rhythm with which to ride the man.

He rose and fell in much the same way that the girl he'd first been with had done to him. He hadn't lasted very long; she was gorgeous and knew what she was doing, and he was a teenage virgin... but he would make this last for Steve.

Danny took it slowly, the way he knew his fiancé liked it, and groaned lasciviously when Steve's hand tracked up over his stomach and chest to slide around his throat and squeeze gently. It felt so fulfilling to be owned and held that way by the muscular brunette; to know he was his and no one else's, that Steve wanted him to the point of obsession, but that he could trust him with every inch of his being, both physically and emotionally. Heart and soul.

He rocked his hips as he moved, drawing out every drive, pressing down hard to take Steve deep within his body.

The way Danny had to hunch over him due to the roof of the car meant that Steve had glorious access to his neck and shoulder, and he delighted in running his tongue over the scar that graced the skin there. It was almost a ritual for him to touch or taste the line, because it reminded him of Danny's selfless loyalty and love for Steve – it made him feel wanted. He'd received that wound in Halawa, and it had been his act of defending his cellmate that had preceded the first time they had truly made love; the transformation in their relationship from fucking to something so much more important, even if they didn't know what it really meant at the time.

Danny felt glorious around his cock, like slick, hot silk, and the knot in Steve's belly was growing progressively tighter as he countered each of his lover's movements by driving up to meet him. The hand that wasn't on Danny's stubbled throat dug marks into his ass cheek, as they gasped and moaned and undulated against one another.

The interior of the vehicle was growing hot and steamy, their breath and body heat filling it and fogging the windows, and the filthy sounds they made reverberated off the close walls of their cocoon. It was getting harder to find purchase on one another's bodies as sweat dripped down the detective's spine and Steve gasped and writhed under him.

Both of Danny's hands slipped into his hair, strong fingers gripping and massaging his scalp as he crushed them together and ground down onto Steve's dick. His pace increased steadily, and the ex-con helped to support him as he threw all his effort into taking them both over the edge they were balanced on so precariously.

"Danny... fuck... so good..." Steve panted.

Danny moved his hand from Steve's head to stroke his own cock between them, thrusting up into his fist before rocking back to take the full length of the other man's dick, and the electricity that zipped up his spine from his prostate felt like it was frying his brain. It was so hard to hold back, but he wanted to take his fiancé to completion before allowing his own, so he screwed his eyes shut and pressed his forehead into Steve's cheek.

"I want you to come in me Steve," that Jersey accent caressed his ear, tickling the feral part of him and causing his damp skin to break out in goosebumps, "I'm yours, take what's yours..."

Steve shouted loudly when he came, spilling his heat inside the cop, and as his spine bowed his hips jerked upward and Danny's head and shoulders hit the ceiling sharply. The blonde grunted and twisted the mechanic's hair reactively, adding to the sensations rippling through his body.

Steve turned his head and dug his teeth into his lover's collarbone, and Danny flexed against him and cried out Steve's name as his orgasm hit, striping his fiancé's stomach with lines of cum.

Their harsh breathing began to slow and even out while their bodies melted against each other, and Steve encircled Danny in his arms and kissed his neck. Then he snickered.

"Your head okay, Danno?"

The shorter man snorted. "Yeah, I should've remembered that bit..." he pulled back and kissed his lover, "I almost gave that girl concussion."

Steve laughed and leaned to the side to pop the door catch, and the two men shivered as the cooler air flowed into the vehicle and chilled their damp flesh.

They managed to extricate themselves from inside the Marquis, and once they were back in their underwear Danny wiped Steve's chest down with his t-shirt while the taller man leaned him into the car and kissed him deeply.

"Shower first," he said when Steve had finished assaulting his mouth, "Then part three."

They made out lazily against the bathroom tiles, taking their time to clean up and recharge, but as they emerged back into the bedroom Danny could hear his phone ringing on the night stand and he felt his stomach drop. Dolly Parton blasting out Nine To Five told him it was work, and he gave Steve an apologetic look even before he picked it up to answer.

"Williams... Okay, where?... Pier nine? I'll be there." He hit the button to cut the line and met Steve's eyes.

"It's okay," the mechanic said before he could even speak, "Part three can be for another day. I've already had the best present ever."

Danny couldn't help but return the goofy grin on his fiancé's face. "I'm happy you liked the Marquis, babe."

He was so glad he'd decided to do it, and the relief when Steve had been so taken with his gift was uplifting.

"Oh yeah, the car was good too," the brunette chuckled.

Danny paused halfway through pulling on a pair of slacks to throw a mock glare at the birthday boy. "Are you telling me I went all the way to the North Shore and the ass end of nowhere to pick up that wreck, when all I had to do was tell you a story and let you have your way, Steven?"

Steve approached him and drew him up into a delicate kiss. "I loved it. All of it." Their eyes met and he tried to project his gratitude through his gaze. "Thank you, Danny."

The cop rubbed his thumb over the taller man's cheek, annoyed that he had to leave early and cut the celebrations short, but determined to make it up to Steve later on. "Happy birthday, babe."


	2. Blindsided

Steve heard the Camaro's engine as the car pulled into the driveway from the kitchen table where he'd been searching for parts for the Marquis and trying to distract himself from his own filthy mind. It was dark out now, and the curtains were drawn, but that engine had an unmistakable rumble to it.

Danny had messaged him after lunch after being called to work earlier that morning, apologising again for being pulled away on Steve's birthday – which they were meant to be spending together and relaxing on – and said he would likely be late home because a body had been discovered by a fishing boat in the early morning. HPD had handled it at first, but due to a sensitive nature it had been handed over to the Governor's task force.

He knew his lover would probably need to wind down when he arrived home, and that little thought had developed into full on technicolour fantasies for the brunette during his day alone, so now at almost 8pm he was more than on edge waiting for his fiancé to return. He had denied himself any relief, wanting to be ready for the detective who could finish the case at any time, so his actions had been tense and he'd had to be careful not to jab the keyboard too hard.

Now he knew his lover was home, he flipped the lid of the computer down, moving to the door and pulling one of Danny's ties out of his pocket.

The front door opened and the Jersey man walked in, stress creasing his brow as he dropped his keys in the bowl on the side table. He looked up, took in Steve's imposing stance and the heat and danger radiating from his dark hazel eyes, and swallowed hard.

If he didn't want this, if he needed slow and gentle or just to relax and do nothing, he could use their safe word. He could say no.

He didn't.

Within seconds of the door closing, he was slammed back into it, the air knocked from his lungs. Steve pressed his forearms against Danny's shoulders, placing the tie over his eyes to act as a blindfold and knotting it behind his head while the shorter man gasped in surprise.

"Welcome home," the mechanic growled, his mouth inches from his fiancé's lips.

The blonde moaned quietly and moved forward to kiss his man, needing his touch as electricity ran down his spine and his cock filled in his slacks, but the brunette moved out of the way at the last second and instead put downward pressure on Danny's shoulders.

"Get on your fucking knees," he hissed harshly, forcing the Jersey man to the floor but careful of his trick knee.

Danny whimpered and did as he was told, hands flexing at his sides with the need to touch and feel the ex-con. The stress of his case melted away, his terrible morning forgotten for the moment, burned away under the smouldering heat that was Steve McGarrett.

The experience was unbelievably erotic, the freedom of his sight taken from him meant he had to place even more trust than usual in his lover, and it sent adrenaline coursing through his veins.

"Open your pretty little mouth, Williams." The low timbre of Steve's voice seemed to have a stronger effect on him than usual, vibrating deep in his body and making him shiver. He loved it when the other man used his last name, it reminded him of the time they'd spent together in Halawa, the four weeks he'd spent discovering what it meant to be taken and owned, when Steve had fucked him senseless and he'd loved every second, breaking down the tattooed criminal's barriers emotionally while he did the same for Danny sexually.

He obeyed, parting his lips, and the taller man impatiently pushed his thumb inside, opening his mouth wider, while his fingers curled under his jaw.

Steve smiled as his fiancé sealed his lips around his invading digit and sucked on his thumb, tongue swirling around the tip.

"What a good boy," he purred, and loved how Danny reacted to the praise with a stifled sigh and bit down gently to signal his enjoyment, "It's still my birthday... Unzip me, baby. Take me out and suck me, I know you love having my cock in your mouth..."

The blonde's fingers were shaking as he moved to undo the fly of Steve's jeans, and he took a deep breath around the mechanic's digit to ground himself as he focused on the task without the aid of his eyes. He managed to get as far as tugging his lover's pants down around his thighs before Steve pulled his thumb out of his mouth and he received a light but firm slap to the side of his face.

"Come on, you want my dick, don't you? Hungry for my cum, baby?"

Danny let out a small huff of frustration. "You know I want you..." he groused, letting the 'but I can't fucking _see_ anything!' go unsaid, not wanting a reprimand for his sass. His blindness and his excitement were hampering his progress, but he finally curled his fingers around his fiancé's waistband and dragged his boxers down to release his erection.

Steve reached down to pump his achingly hard cock a couple of times to ease his own discomfort before directing the tip to Danny's lips. He'd been wanting to have his man again all day since they'd had sex in his new car that morning, thinking about his hot mouth and the talented things he could do with it. He loved fucking his fiancé, took so much pleasure in taking what the man was sometimes almost desperate to give. They were the perfect yin and yang, with Steve dominating in the bedroom where Danny loved to submit, the balance of their push and pull spot on, experimenting together and always evolving as lovers.

As his dick was taken into the silky heat of the blonde's mouth, he cried out with pleasure and had to lean against the door over Danny's head to steady himself. He felt the shorter man snicker around his cock, obviously relishing the fact that he could cause that sort of reaction in his master, and to teach him a lesson. Steve tugged hard on his hair, though he smiled lovingly down on the man, safe in the knowledge that he couldn't see his mask slip.

Secretly he liked that Danny knew he held so much power but didn't really take advantage of it, and the Jersey man was more than aware that he was Steve's weakness, but the current status quo was what they both wanted, needed, so neither ever made a move to change it.

The detective took the brunette's cock deep into his mouth, and applied slight pressure with his teeth as he pulled back, grazing the skin.

"Oh fuck, Danny... you feel so good, so fucking wet for me..." Steve thumbed along his lower lip and thrust forward into him again, careful not to push too far and choke him.

Danny hummed around him and bobbed his head back and forth, sucking and licking, flicking his tongue over the mechanic's frenulum and making him jerk at the sensation.

Steve let himself revel in the sensations for a minute or so, then tugged Danny's hair hard, pulling his head back and forcing his mouth open in a yelp of pain as he withdrew his dick. He dropped to his knees in front of his fiancé and took him in a rough, forceful kiss, gripping his head and delving his tongue in deep, tasting his lover and celebrating the way he felt under his lips. They were both gasping for oxygen by the time he pulled back, Steve still grasping the detective's hair tight while Danny's hands had moved to rest on Steve's biceps.

"I'm gonna fuck you so hard, baby... I've wanted you all day and I'm gonna take what's mine again."

Danny's only response was a soft groan, his ability to think straight being stolen from him with every passing second. It disappeared completely when the ex-con's free hand smoothed over the bulge in his slacks, and he bucked forward into his touch, fingers curling and tightening against the other man's muscles.

"Mmm, so hard for me..." The tattooed man ran his tongue up the curve of his lover's jaw, leaving a wet line that cooled his hot skin when he blew gently on it to make him shiver. Then he dragged Danny to his feet as he stood, shoving him violently towards the back of the room but keeping a firm hold on his arms so he didn't fall. "Bedroom. Now."

The Jersey man stumbled slightly, his fiancé guiding him in the right direction as he propelled him through the house, and then he was stopped suddenly and the taller man's hands were popping the buttons of his shirt undone. He went to unbutton his pants, but Steve stopped him.

"Don't, let me," he chided, his voice almost soft in comparison to his earlier orders. This really was about taking Danny's stress away, making him feel better after a rough day, and not just about the mechanic getting his birthday prize. He wanted his lover to feel good, his own enjoyment becoming a by-product of his love for him.

Danny sighed and dropped his hands to his sides, flexing his ever-active fingers, letting his man take care of his clothing until he was completely naked, and then he waited and listened to the rustle of fabric as Steve shed his own jeans and t-shirt. The cop was turned ninety degrees and pushed sharply backward. He shouted in brief panic before his fall was broken by the mattress and he bounced a little with the impact.

He felt the other man mount the bed, the mattress dipping either side of his body, and he twisted his fingers into the sheets and squirmed beneath him, pushing his shoulders back and exposing his throat.

Hot breath tickled Danny's skin, Steve's tongue darting out to lick along the shell of his ear to pull a wanton gasp from him.

The detective let himself drown in the sensation of a hundred thousand nerve endings firing at once. Without his sight his other senses took over, each and every feeling intensified and made all consuming by his arousal; a heady mix of taste and touch, sound and smell. Steve's tongue winding down his throat, their stubble scraping and catching as he moved, his hot breath flowing over his bare skin like electricity, teeth nipping at the muscle that linked his neck and shoulder and fingers brushing over his arms and bare hips.

The weight of the man on top of him alone was a turn on, but the feel of his rough, calloused fingers kneading his flesh and pinching his nipples had him gasping for more. The knowledge that the hot, heavy line now lying on his stomach was his lover's hard cock, that soon it would be inside him, fucking into him, taking him apart molecule by molecule and making him scream, was going to make him come all by himself.

"Do you want me to fuck you, Danny?" Steve's voice was rough and low, sexy and dangerous.

The blonde whimpered and arched his back, but strong hands pushed him down harshly into the mattress.

"Do you want me to make you come?"

"Fuck, yes..." he whispered.

"Beg me. Beg me to fuck you."

The animalistic growl made his dick jump, and the tip of his fiancé's tongue flicking over his earlobe again pulled a breathy, pathetic noise from his chest.

"Steve... God... I need you to fuck me... Make me yours, _please_..." He couldn't keep the desperation from his voice, didn't care how he sounded, he just needed his lover to own him.

The tattooed man gazed down on his gorgeous captive, blind and open and willing, submitting himself to whatever the mechanic saw fit to do to him. The cut of his stomach muscles, thick biceps defined under creamy skin, broad chest heaving as he licked his lips in anticipation of what was to come. He was heaven, and he was his for the taking.

Steve raised himself up on his knees and manhandled Danny until he was on his front below him, letting his fingertips dig into his flesh and leave little bruises behind to add to the ones already appearing from that morning. His man loved to be marked, seeing the evidence of their love on his body long after the act had occurred, and the brunette loved it too. His marks, his territory, his Danny.

He reached for the bottle of lube on the side table and smothered his fingers with the liquid, before running them through the cleft of the detective's perfectly rounded ass. The sounds he made clawed at Steve's neanderthal brain, telling him to take his quarry and devour it.

As his finger slid into his lover's waiting hole, his teeth sank into his right shoulder near his spine and Danny whimpered and flexed below him.

"Ah shit, yes..." he gasped, "Steve..."

The brunette took his time preparing his fiancé, opening him up with one and then two fingers, just to the point where he could take the girth of the mechanic's cock, but so it would still be a stretch to receive him. He knelt up with his knees either side of the cop's thighs, trapping him in place, and used his free hand to slick up his erection which was painfully hard after being ignored again in favour of foreplay and dirty talk.

He gave the Jersey man no warning, whipping his fingers away and leaning down to force his cock between those muscular cheeks, pressing into his tight entrance until the thick head slipped past the ring of muscle.

Danny cried out and twisted his hips as if to get away from the taller man, but he didn't tell him to stop. He wanted the fight, but only so he could be conquered. Steve's hands flashed out and took hold of his lover's flailing wrists, twisting them behind his back so he could grip them both in one fist. His other hand went to part the detective's ass further and push his hips into the bed, driving inch by inch into the temptingly hot depths of his prize.

The sharp pain shooting up Danny's spine gave way to mind blowing pleasure as the angle meant that Steve's cock slipped hard over his prostate, and the blonde bit down on the sheets under him as his nerve endings fired mixed messages to his brain. He panted hard, feeling a little light headed as beads of sweat broke out down his back, and he bucked into the bed to obtain some stimulation for his own dick.

Steve felt full and thick and delicious inside him, and he pushed up toward him to take the last of his length and have his hip bones flush against his ass.

"Shit," the taller man growled just above his shoulders, "You're so fucking tight... I've been thinking about you all day and now you're just so god damn beautiful and you feel so _good_..." Steve paused to allow the blonde to adjust to him, and indulged in sucking a pattern of dark pink roses into Danny's skin while he let his own breathing calm.

The cop grunted and shifted below him.

"Are you hungry for me, baby? Such a filthy little bitch... You need me to make you come? You want it deep and hard, is that it?"

The raw whine that escaped the detective's lips told him everything he needed to know, and he rolled his hips and began to thrust steadily in and out of his lover, ensuring his movements were fluid as he gradually increased his pace.

"You're mine, no one else's. No one gets to screw you like this except me..." Rather than a command to his fiancé, Steve's words were a reminder to himself, confirmation that this exquisite man was his and his alone.

"Oh god, Steve... yours..." Danny gasped into the sheets and flexed his hands at his back.

The ex-con raised his free hand and brought it down on the cop's ass, the smacking sound punctuating their groans and heavy breathing that already filled the air. He squeezed the creamy flesh in his grip before placing his palm firmly between his fiancé's shoulder blades and leaning his weight on him so he could plunge harder and faster into his hole.

Danny was moaning his lover's name into the bed, every sensation almost too much for him to handle, and he felt his approaching orgasm only seconds before it hit. He shouted wordlessly, gasping and panting as waves of pleasure rolled through him, his hips jerking uncontrollably to stimulate his cock as he came hard.

He felt Steve's movements become less coordinated, and the taller man hammered into him until he climaxed, releasing his seed deep within his lover.

"Fuck, Danny!"

The ex-con's entire body tensed and flexed as he lost control, and as all the energy left him in one go he collapsed onto Danny's back, forcing the remaining air from his lungs.

He managed to pull out and roll off him so he could breathe and move if he wanted, but the blonde just lay there limply, heaving oxygen in. They both focused on letting their heart rates return to normal as the endorphins flowed through their veins.

"Jesus H Christ..." Danny's voice was muffled by the mattress, and Steve laughed at the way his man couldn't find the wherewithal to move even minutely, or remove the tie from over his eyes.

He reached over and pulled on the detective's shoulder until he flopped over onto his back, and the brunette flung his leg over the shorter man's thighs and snuggled against him. He pushed his face into the crook of his lover's neck, where he'd long ago discovered his head fit perfectly. It didn't escape Steve just how well they seemed to slot together, and his inner romantic kept whispering silly words like 'soul mate' and 'made for each other' while he steadfastly tried to ignore them so as not to sound like a complete goof, as Danny would call him.

"I'll go get us the pizza menu when I have the energy again, so you don't have to cook for me... How was work?" he asked, as if he hadn't just viciously assaulted the cop in several different ways.

The blonde let out a sigh. "It sucked, actually... really sucked..." he sounded so tired, like there was a heavy weight on his chest, but a small smile flickered over his features, "But then I got to come home to you, and holy fuck was that _exactly_ what I needed..."

Steve leaned up and kissed the cop's lips, pushing the blindfold up from his face and off his forehead. Those blue-grey eyes blinked at him and focused, adapting to the now too-bright light of the room, but the mechanic's heart twisted as he saw something painful in them.

"You wanna talk about it?" he whispered gently, as if he might scare his lover away.

The weak smile left Danny's features completely, and he looked down and away from his fiancé as the day flooded back to him. He felt tears spike at the corners of his eyes, and he screwed them shut.

"Baby, what's going on?" Steve slipped his hand up to cradle the blonde's cheek as he shook his head.

He sucked in a deep breath as his tears finally fell. "She was so fucking _young_ , Steve..."

The ex-con's heart ripped in two as Danny rolled onto his side and curled into his lover, sobbing into his chest, and it was all he could do to wrap his arms around the man and hold him close as he released his pain.

He had no clue as to what had gone on that morning, what had affected the seasoned detective so much... but he was damned if he was going to let him go through it alone.

Danny chewed on his pizza and stared glassily at the television, not really watching the movie that played on the screen.

He hadn't really given Steve that many details, not wanting to think too much about the case, and he was grateful the mechanic hadn't pressed him further despite his obvious concern. It was hard for Danny not to bring work home with him, especially the more difficult jobs such as this one. He kept seeing that little girl's face in his mind's eye, and couldn't help imagining Grace in her stead, laid out on the wooden pier with the netting still tangled around her body… No, he needed to stop thinking about it and just focus on Steve's warm hand on his shoulder, his arm around his back.

Danny screwed his eyes shut and leaned back, tucking his head under Steve's chin and taking a deep breath. He couldn't cry again, shouldn't let it get to him like this. He should remain professional. He'd already cried on his fiancé once tonight, and forced back tears at the office when Kono had given him an unexpected hug on their return, despite knowing she would accept his weakness without hesitation.

The rookie could read him like an open book sometimes, and he wasn't sure if he should be grateful or not. At least he knew that he had people around him who cared; his fiancé and his team. They were his ohana. He just prayed he could get through this unscathed, that everyone would. The last time a case like this had landed in his lap… well, he didn't want to think about that either.

He resolved himself not to speak about it tonight. It still felt a little too fresh, and maybe it would be best to keep his personal and work lives separate for as long as possible before it inevitably bled through. Steve didn't need to hear the details, and Danny didn't really want to let them pass his lips again until he was ready.

Steve slid his hand up from the blonde's shoulder, where it had been resting lightly as a source of understated comfort, up into his hair. He scratched there gently like he would pet a dog or cat, just enough to show Danny he was there for him, ready to give whatever he needed, and he felt a little better when the cop relaxed slightly more into him and sighed again.

Part of him wanted to find out more about what was bothering the cop, know what was going on and why Danny looked like he was constantly biting back his emotions, but he knew better than to insist on satisfying his own curiosity when it was something that was obviously tough on his lover. So he resigned himself to knowing the few pieces of information he'd gleaned so far.

A young girl was dead, and it was first believed to be an accident, but some evidence had come to light which meant that Five-0 had been brought in to take over. That meant it was probably murder, and the ex-con felt sick to his stomach even knowing there were people out there who could hurt children. Child abusers and child killers never lasted long in Halawa, and he'd seen to making the lives of a few of them hell during his own time in the prison.

He thought about this child's parents and how they must be feeling; he couldn't contemplate something happening to Grace, and how he and Danny could even begin to cope… it didn't bear thinking about, and he had to swallow past the lump that formed in his throat.

All he could do right now was hold his lover close and provide the firm, caring touch he required. He'd felt a little guilty about the rough way he'd attacked Danny when he'd arrived home, but the detective had already told him it was just what he'd needed, and Steve thanked the heavens for the link they shared.

He hoped Danny would open up to him eventually, but right now the Jersey man was snuggling into him and taking deep breaths to calm himself, so he relaxed his own body and let his eyes drift shut, more than content to fall asleep on the couch with his man.

He prayed he could be what Danny needed.


	3. Bad Medicine

"We were called out to a body found off the coast," Kono stabbed at the tech table a little bit too severely while Steve leaned against it, the tense sadness he'd seen in Danny echoed in the young woman's eyes. "A fishing boat pulled in their nets, and they found her amongst the catch. God, she was just a little girl, Steve..."

She looked up at the taller man with wide, dark brown eyes, and he leaned in and hauled her into a hug.

He'd brought Danny in on the Sunday morning so that the team could get an early start on the case. They'd all worked on what they could find during Saturday, but Danny had told them all to go home when he could see the effect it was having on them. They were still waiting for identification and other results to come back from the lab anyway, and that was when he'd come home to his lover to seek solace.

Now they were all back in, and Steve had decided to find out more about the case while Danny was in his office.

"I'm sorry Kono," he kissed her hair gently, "Danny wouldn't say much last night. He just didn't want to talk, and I don't blame him..."

The Hawaiian woman pulled back, squeezing his hip in thanks for the hug, and busied herself with the computer again.

"Danny never takes it well when it involves children. No one does, but he and Meka take it especially hard. They've both got kids, and it just seems to resonate with them a little more," she looked up to where her boss and his partner were talking over a file at his desk, "Meka just gets sad... Danny gets sad and angry in roughly equal proportion. At least since he's been with you he doesn't have the anger issues so much, but this won't help..."

The ex-con cocked his head and looked at his friend. "And you and Chin?"

She met his gaze and smiled weakly. "Yeah, I don't know how I'm feeling right now. Just gotta get through it... Chin will be okay too. We've got each other to lean on, Meka's got Amy... and boss man has you."

She was cut off by Danny and Meka coming out of the office, and the blonde man dropping some files on the tech table.

"We've got a lot of crap to wade through here guys," he spoke to his team and then looked up at his fiancé, "I don't know when I'll be home, sorry babe..."

Steve took that as the hint for him to leave; he wasn't really privy to the inner workings of Five-0 and their current cases, due to the sensitive and confidential nature of the kind of thing they worked on. He didn't think he was quite prepared to see photos of a dead child either, so he leaned in to plant a firm kiss on his lover's cheek.

"Don't worry Danno, I understand," he gripped his hand and received a little squeeze back, "Just call me when you're on your way, I'll get the food in."

As he headed for the double doors back out of HQ, he glanced back at the group. Chin was just coming out of his office and saying something about the lab, and the brunette hoped his fiancé's team would be able to support one another through this.

He couldn't help but wonder about what Kono had been said. He'd never really seen Danny angry – they had had their arguments in their time together, he'd seen him fight when they were in prison, and he'd always known his man was a bit of a firecracker... but really, truly angry? Never.

If he had a calming effect on the Jersey man, then that was a good thing as far as he was concerned.

Danny watched his lover leave, and then turned back to his team.

"The lab sent these over," Chin was saying, swiping files from his tablet onto the tech table and then bringing them up on the monitors, "The body found was Maggie Cho, ten years old, family lives in Waikiki-"

The blonde felt Meka's and Kono's eyes flick to him, even though he did his best not to react. The words ' _she's the same age as Grace_ ' were left unspoken in the air as his colleagues went back to concentrating on what the older cop was saying.

"-She was reported missing over a week ago, after never returning home from the park with her friends. HPD pretty much exhausted every avenue they could to try and track her down, but there was no evidence to say where she had been taken."

Danny didn't normally like to make assumptions, but abduction seemed like the only real possibility here. It was possible that the girl could have wandered off on her own, but the likelihood of her managing to get herself out to sea without help was basically zero. Initial examination at the scene had also shown Maggie may have had her wrists bound at some point, which was why Five-0 had been called in straight away when it was discovered.

"Why was she at the park without supervision?" Meka piped up, drumming his fingers on the edge of the table lightly.

Chin made a slight noise of mutual disapproval and brought up a map. "She was there with her friends and their parents, but the park is around the corner from her home and the adults saw nothing wrong with letting her walk the five minutes home on her own. She'd done it before, apparently."

Danny rolled his eyes and tried not to comment. He was sure those parents regretted their mistake beyond words now, but that didn't help Maggie.

Kono marked the girl's presumed path home along the road using the touch screen, park to house, and then pointed to a patch of trees along the route. "She would've had to walk past this?"

Her cousin nodded. "HPD have combed that area thoroughly. Nothing. CCTV in the area is patchy because it's mostly residential."

The blonde didn't want to ask the question, but knew he needed to. "Do we know cause of death?" It was bad enough that poor little girl was dead, but he hoped whatever it was had been quick, and that she hadn't had to go through any torture or worse.

Chin looked at his pad again. "No, the autopsy hasn't been completed yet. But Max says there's no outward indicators as to a cause – bullet or stab wounds, fatal bruising or otherwise – so it's not clear yet, but seeing as she was in the water then drowning is a possibility. We'll have to wait."

He hated not knowing the full picture, but they were just going to have to move forward for now and hope the information would come in.

"Okay, well we need to start running down the suspect files again, I want fresh eyes on all of these statements and interviews, and we need to roll through what footage we have again. Kono, can you double check all cameras in the area?"

"On it, boss," the sniper patted his shoulder as she headed for her office.

"Chin, financials and statements, please. Meka... give me a few minutes and then you and I need to go and see the parents and break the news..."

Chin gripped his other shoulder for a moment before entering his office and closing the door, and Meka sidled over to the Five-0 leader and bumped his hip with his own.

"We can get HPD to inform the family, bruh," he whispered, "Or I can do it on my own."

Danny scrubbed at his face. "How long have I been a cop, Mek? I can do this. You've got a kid too, nothing special about me. Anyway, we have to re-interview them. I need to meet them myself."

"We're gonna get the son of a bitch that did this, D," he gave him a hopeful smile.

Danny nodded. "And then we're gonna dance on his fucking grave, Mek," the Jersey man replied firmly, before leaving for his own office and closing the door.

He leaned back against it, wishing he was as confident as he had just sounded, but if HPD had already done their best on the initial search then he wondered if there was anything else to be found. He stared down at his balled fists and wondered how long he'd had them subconsciously clenched. His nails had bitten little half moons into his palms, so he took a calming breath and flexed them open flat, relaxing the muscles and tendons.

Danny took a few minutes to settle himself, try and slip into impartial cop mode and ignore the father within him that was screaming to track down the unknown killer and rip their throat out. He would let his empathy come through, try not to make promises he couldn't keep, but right now he had to be the professional these people needed whilst remembering that even they were still potential suspects.

He grabbed his wallet and phone, and got ready to head out to deliver the worst news of Maggie Cho's parents' lives.

Steve woke to the front door closing, and he turned over in the bed to see the living room light come on down the corridor, filtering through the crack in the bedroom door. He heard Danny's keys clink into the bowl, and movement in the kitchen although it was muted by distance and his lover obviously trying to be quiet. It was just after midnight, and he must have been attempting to avoid waking his fiancé.

It was a good ten minutes before the light went out again, and the detective was quietly opening the bedroom door, stripping off his shirt and slacks as he moved across the room and around to his side of the bed.

"Hey Danno," Steve greeted him from the pillow.

"Oh shit, sorry," the Jersey man huffed, "I didn't want to wake you..."

"Don't worry about it," the brunette turned over onto his back and leaned up on his elbows to watch Danny's outline move in the near-darkness, back lit dully by the streetlights outside their curtains, "I'm glad, I wanted to know you were home safe."

The shorter man flung his boxers vaguely near the laundry basket and crawled into the bed under the covers, flopping onto his back, and Steve pointedly decided to say nothing about the trail of clothes his lover had left behind him. He hated mess, but his man was in no state of mind for a lecture.

"I should have called earlier, I had food at work and I was going to head back here around ten but... I needed..." he sighed out a long breath, "I needed to go see Grace. Meka dropped me off at Rachel's place. She wasn't happy, me turning up so late and unannounced, but when I told her about the case she made me go up and wake her up for a hug. Gracie was sleepy and confused as all hell, but god I needed that..."

The mechanic smiled and kissed Danny's cheek. "Rachel's a good woman," he conceded.

And she was, because while most women would freak out at the prospect of their ex-husband's ex-con lover moving in and being around their child, after a year's worth of warning and discussions and explanations while Steve was still inside, Rachel Edwards had eventually given Danny the benefit of the doubt and had trusted in his love for his daughter – if Danny was okay with Steve meeting Grace, then so was she, though within her rights she was still wary of him like she would be with any new partner interacting with her child.

Their original plan had been for Steve to meet Grace at a barbecue, with friends and family and her mother around, but emergency circumstances had led to the girl being dropped off at Danny's house first thing on a Monday morning and her meeting her father's boyfriend unexpectedly in the kitchen. He honestly hadn't known which of them was more scared.

When Steve had finally met her mother the following weekend, the pretty British woman had been suspicious and tentative, but had soon warmed to him and his charms. He'd been honest from the get go, telling her he'd been a con man, but that things were different now. And hopefully he'd proven that with helping Danny during the case with the stolen cars where he'd acted as an undercover informant, and saying yes to marrying the man.

And despite their divorce, Rachel obviously knew her ex loved their little girl more than life itself, so if he was turning up on her doorstep and wanting comfort from seeing Grace, he obviously needed it.

"I stayed for an hour or so after that, Rach wanted to make sure I was okay. But I just wanted to get home to you, so I called a cab..." Danny looked over at the brunette in the twilight, "I love you, Steve."

The ex-con smiled and leaned over to kiss his man. "I love you too."

The cop tasted of whiskey, Steve discovered, when he dipped his tongue into his mouth as it opened it to him.

"Is that my single malt?" he smiled when he pulled back, gently teasing.

Danny shrugged a little. "Sorry. I only had one, just when I got home... I wanted more, hell I could quite happily bathe in a tub of good scotch right now, but I can't do that," he kissed Steve's lips firmly, "Need to be on point for this case."

The mechanic nodded, knowing better than to ask if they'd made any progress. Even if they had, the team obviously hadn't caught anyone yet otherwise his lover would be in a much happier mood, so he kept the questions on hold. If Danny wanted to talk anything through, he would initiate it.

"What do you need from me?" He kept his voice low, and there was nothing negative or judgemental about his question. He just wanted to give and let Danny take; he wanted to be the whiskey his fiancé couldn't get drunk on, be the drug that wouldn't create a hangover. He could be his release, be whatever he needed, with no ill effects... well, aside from some bruising maybe, but Danny was always fine with that.

"I need..." the blonde started, but then petered off, looking away.

Steve kissed his lips again, and then trailed down his jaw to nibble down to the junction of his neck and shoulder, tonguing the pulse line of his artery. "Come on, tell me what you need, what do you want me to do to you?"

"Mmm... I need you to fuck me Steve, I just..." Danny didn't know how to put into words what he required, not without sounding like he was using his lover somehow. He wasn't, he needed him all the time in so many ways, but the way this might come out sounded wrong or selfish.

"You need to forget?"

How the hell was it that Steve knew him _that_ well, inside and out? Just understanding what he'd wanted to say and not even seeing anything bad in it. He didn't think he'd ever know why he'd been given this beautiful, tattooed gift of a man, but he was forever grateful he had him.

He nodded as tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, voice soft because he was afraid it would break otherwise. "I don't want to think about anything except you..."

Steve moved until he was on all fours above him, dipping down to lick into his mouth and capture his tongue with his own. Danny's hands came up to slip around his slim hips and knead at the flesh there.

The detective needed it so intensely tonight, and his man seemed to automatically sense this and know just what to do.

Steve kissed along his jaw and down his throat, occasionally nipping with sharp teeth lightly enough not to produce marks. He always avoided leaving evidence that couldn't be hidden by the Danny's daily clothing, not because either of them were ashamed of who they were or how they did things, but more because the cop had a job where professionalism was paramount, and letting his personal life appear around the edges was something he needed to avoid. Steve didn't often receive marks, but when he did he didn't care about showing up to the garage with them on display.

Once the mechanic reached collarbone, however, it was a different story. Below that boundary line was where he could have his fun.

Teeth dug into the skin high on his pectoral, and Danny bucked upwards with the electricity flowing through his chest from his fiancé's bite. He made a strained groaning noise, and the ex-con's grip loosened, but the blonde grabbed at his head and pressed him into his body, asking for more. Steve complied and squeezed down hard, almost enough to draw blood, and the pain helped white out all the other noise in Danny's mind.

The taller man released him, only to move down to his ribs and bite again, and this time the Jersey man yelped and struggled a little, but Steve knew his lover could tell him to stop if need be, so he continued on his journey. He left dark teeth marks in Danny's skin, travelling lower again and across to the other side of his body, nipping a trail of fire until he reached his hips where he clamped down again.

"Fuck, Steve..." the Jersey man gasped and tugged at his hair reflexively, and the mechanic growled and lashed out, grasping both of his lover's wrists, forcing them down into the bed.

Danny struggled against him, pressing his heels into the mattress and fighting back, but Steve dropped his body weight in between the cop's legs, feeling his fiancé's hard cock against his chest, and squeezed his arms tighter.

A growl emanated from his lover, Steve's teeth still digging into the flesh at his hip, and the vibrations travelled through the brunette's chest and into Danny's dick. He whimpered and thrust up against his solid body, trying to obtain more stimulation for his erection, but Steve's reaction was to lift off of him again so he could move to the drawer and get the lube.

Danny obediently kept his hands where they had been left despite his need to reach out and grasp at the ex-con, and he could see Steve's smug smile in the half light when he arrived back over him. The strain of staying put must have been evident on his face.

Steve kneeled between the detective's thighs, and squeezed gel on to his fingers. The other hand then stroked down Danny's inner leg, raising goosebumps.

"I love you, baby," he whispered, kissing his lover's knee.

"I love you too, Steve," Danny replied, trust implicit in his tone.

The mechanic ran his slick fingers over his fiancé's balls, down his perineum and over his puckered hole. The blonde let out a little sigh and flexed his back, fingers burrowing into the sheets.

The ex-con leaned down and licked a wide stripe up the underside of Danny's full, hard cock, and he took the head into his mouth just as he pressed a finger into his lover. The Jersey man moaned and tugged on the bedding, wanting so much to tangle his fingers into that short brown hair and pull on that instead. Quite often, if he misbehaved, Steve would teach him a lesson, and tonight there was a part of him that wanted the punishment more than anything. And that side of him was slowly winning out.

The brunette moaned around his cock, taking him back and deep throating him, and the sensations caused the dam to finally break. His hands flashed out, gripping Steve's hair and pushing his hips up, and the taller man released an annoyed curse from his throat as he pulled back. He snatched at the detective's wrists and threw his body forward over the man below him, bringing the cop's hands to either side of his head and putting his face right up against Danny's.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing?" he hissed, and the blonde turned his head to capture Steve's lower lip between his teeth as he undulated his body against his fiancé, continuing his bad behaviour.

Steve growled again and kissed him hard, loving the fact he was having to work to win this one, rutting his swollen dick into the dip of Danny's pelvic muscles as he fought for dominance in the kiss. The Jersey man finally conceded power, and once he did the tattooed man climbed off him, grabbing his arm and shoulder and wrestled him on to his front on the bed.

The drawer was pulled open again and before he knew it Steve was folding separate soft leather cuffs around his wrists and attempting to link them together in the small of his back. Danny tried to pull away, get up on his knees, but the mechanic was shoving him back down to the sheets and placing a sharp knee on his ass cheek to hold him in place while he finished clipping the cuffs together.

Steve moved off him and smiled victoriously before leaning over him and spanking him hard with the flat of his hand.

Danny shouted in pain and writhed under his lover as he straddled his thighs and trapped him on the bed with his knees squeezed tight either side of him.

He strained at the bonds again, receiving a smack to the other cheek for his troubles. The wretched sound the impact tore from his lungs made the taller man flinch.

"Shit Danny, I'm sorry. You okay?" he rested a palm lightly in between the detective's shoulder blades in a comforting manner.

"Don't stop," the cop panted, "Fuck, just don't stop Steve!"

Steve hesitated for a second more, and then leaned back on his haunches and raised his hand again. "You know the safe word," he reminded his man quietly, trusting him to know his own limits, and when he received a nod of affirmation he brought his palm down sharply on that gorgeous, rounded ass.

Danny yelped and bucked under him, and he dipped down to lick at the raised hand marks that reddened his lover's skin. Then he pulled those cheeks apart with both hands and delved his tongue into the other man's hole, massaging his buttocks as he loosened him ready to take his cock.

Danny was fucking glorious, all laid out and desperate for him like this. He loved this man with every ounce of his soul; the way he gave everything to Steve in the bedroom, trusted him so deeply and wanted him so much despite who he used to be and how they had begun. He made him a better man in the outside world, while allowing him to release his inner devil in the bedroom. He was everything to him and more, and Steve would serve him until the end of time if he so required.

Danny was moaning his name and wriggling under him, and he pulled back to douse his fingers with more lube, pressing two at once inside the blonde after preparing him only slightly with his mouth. He obviously wanted more tonight, and Steve was only too happy to provide.

"Fuck, yes!" the Jersey man howled and pressed back into him, enjoying every second of the rough treatment.

Steve made sure he was fully prepped, massaging over his prostate a couple of times to achieve the lascivious grunts and groans he loved to hear, and then he removed his fingers and hunched down over his fiancé, pressing the head of his cock in between his cheeks and gliding over his entrance.

He put his hands either side of the cop's wide shoulders and nipped at his shoulders, before whispering into his ear.

"You want my cock, don't you baby?" He rocked forward a little, and his erection slid through the valley of the other man's ass.

Danny made a frustrated noise when the movement wasn't the entry he wanted.

"Are you going to behave now, Danny? Or are you gonna keep fighting me?"

The detective grunted in reply, knowing it wouldn't be a good enough answer but not wishing to let go quite yet.

The tattooed man lifted up and spanked him again, moaning when the shock wave travelled through Danny's flesh and into his cock where it was nestled.

"I asked you a question. Are you going to behave?" He dug his teeth into his lover's shoulder again, gradually increasing the pressure until the blonde was whimpering, forced to break his steadfast silence and answer.

"Ah... _ah_! Okay, yes! _Yes, Steve_!" he panted when the pain became close to too high on the scale, "I'll stop, I'll stop!"

The brunette released him and growled his approval. "Mm, good boy..."

Danny gasped as the head of his fiancé's cock breached his ring, and the ex-con slid into him at a punishingly slow pace, filling him inch by glorious inch.

It was a sweet kind of torture for Steve as well, going so slowly, but he loved being in control so much that he couldn't resist doing whatever would drive the Jersey man crazy. He rewarded himself by pressing as far as he possibly could into his fiancé, taking firm hold of his tied wrists and using the counterpoint to drive his dick in deep.

The cop groaned and cursed under him, and the mechanic only gave him a second to adjust before pulling out and thrusting back in again, beginning his rough assault on his man, taking what he wanted and giving what his fiancé needed in return. The perfect push and pull of their relationship was never more evident than at times like this, and it twisted in his belly to know just how well matched they were.

The angle was perfect for Danny, feeling his lover drive into him, building his speed until he was pummelling into him and hitting his sweet spot with each stroke. He gasped and moaned with every movement, letting the pleasure take over as Steve's mouth began to meander down his spine with nips and kisses, darting to sweep his tongue over and soothe the various bite marks he'd left as he went.

"Steve... god, keep going... I love you," he spoke into the bed, wanting his man to take him and own him in the way only Steve seemed to be able to.

Steve used his knees to spread Danny's thighs further, allowing him to push deeper inside him. He slipped his free hand under Danny, between his body and the sheets, and grasped his leaking cock. His precum provided the lubricant he needed, and each of Steve's thrusts pushed the cop's dick through his fist, causing him to buck and shout out.

It wasn't long before Danny felt his orgasm about to peak, and he bit down on the sheets just as it hit. A hoarse cry exited his throat through his clenched teeth, his spine bowed, and he bucked so hard that Steve had to use his bound hands like reins to stay sheathed inside him.

"Fuck!" the tattooed man gasped as his lover constricted around him and almost threw him off his body with his release. He felt the man's cum spill over his hand, and he stroked him through his orgasm until he calmed his movements.

Then Steve pressed the other man down into the mattress and fucked into him, taking himself to his own climax within seconds of his fiancé and collapsing down onto his sweat-slick back to drag in oxygen.

"Jesus fuck, Danny," he sighed, kissing his neck and rolling off the shorter man, and Danny hummed in reply, unable to voice exactly what he was feeling.

Endorphins combined with exhaustion wrapped around him, pulling him down into oblivion. His beautiful, perfect lover unlinked the cuffs and freed him, gently removing them from his wrists, and then encased him in his arms and pulled him in close to lay the cop on his back, Steve's head going to rest on Danny's shoulder.

"I love you Steve, so much... you know that, right?" He squeezed the tattooed man's forearm where it lay across his heaving chest.

"I know, Danno. I love you too, I'm always going to be here for you." He'd traverse hell and swim oceans for the wonderful human being he held in his grip.

"How comes you're so perfect?" Danny mumbled as he drifted off.

"Takes a lot of work, I can tell you," Steve snickered, kissing the spot just behind his ear, "Go to sleep baby, I've got you..."

His lover let out a deep sigh. "I'm gonna marry the fuck outta you..." And then he was asleep.


	4. Burdens Shared

"You still okay to pick me up later?" Steve swiped the keys for the Marquis out of the dish and grinned at Danny like an excited child. He was taking the Marquis into work so that he could work on it in his lunch break, and he needed to order some new parts which were cheaper to buy through the garage's suppliers.

Also Danny kept insisting buying off the internet was a bad idea, and Steve wondered where the man had been burned before with online purchasing.

"Yeah babe, I'll let you know if I'm delayed but I should be able to come get you after five," the blonde stuffed more pancakes into his mouth and gave him the 'okay' sign with his fingers.

"See you later," Steve turned and headed through to the garage.

Danny's phone started vibrating across the table, and he snatched it up to see Kono's number flashing at him.

"Hey babe," he mumbled, swallowing a mouthful of blueberry batter.

" _Morning boss_ ," she replied, " _Report's in_."

It wasn't long before he was leaning on the tech table alongside Chin in the bull pen and looking over the coroner's report on Maggie Cho.

"Heart attack," he repeated quietly, because it still didn't make sense, "But she was ten..."

His friend nodded, pointing to the paperwork lower down. "She had an underlying condition from birth, needed medication."

Danny scrubbed at his face, remembering the information. "Yeah, her parents said during the interview they thought it was odd she was late. She was due pills, and she was so good at taking them..."

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the scene of Mr and Mrs Cho on their couch, the man holding his wife while she cried into his shoulder after Danny and Meka had delivered the news, photographs and evidence of their love for their little girl everywhere. His heart had broken for them, and he knew deep down they weren't responsible, even though they still had to keep them on the list of suspects for now.

Maggie had been described as a well-behaved girl, not the type to run away, always polite and helpful and full of life. It seemed to be the way all kids were remembered in these circumstances, but he got the impression every bit of it was true for her.

They'd had to walk away from her parents after destroying their lives with those dreaded four words. " _Please take a seat_..." It was how all shocking news, like death announcements, started, and everyone knew it.

Chin continued, trying to ground them in the case. "Body is judged to be in the water for about twenty-four hours before the fishing boat picked her up at 2.30am on Saturday morning. She went missing on Wednesday afternoon, which means she was held somewhere for more than a day before ending up out at sea on Thursday night... Kono's working on contacting the marinas and yacht clubs, and-"

At that moment the Hawaiian woman swung the door to her office open. "Guys, I think I've got something."

They followed her back in to her desk and she showed them her computer screen.

"I've been speaking to the Aloha Boat Club, and they said that their records show the Lady Fontaine was taken out by her owners on Thursday night, and they weren't due to dock again until Friday night, but they returned early, at around six Friday morning," she tapped the logged times on the screen, email over from the marina, "So whatever trip they were planning on making was cut short... Their route north puts them close to the fishing area. This could be a lead..."

Danny nodded, determined to grasp hold of anything they had. He could feel the tension in his chest and neck beginning to ease slightly at the possible line to the abductors, but it was fast being replaced by adrenaline.

"Tell the marina to keep an eye on that boat. We're on our way," he was already out of the office door as he spoke, raising his voice to they could still hear him as they rushed to follow him across the bullpen, "I'll call Meka. Gear up and be ready in fifteen!"

Steve put the phone down on the parts manufacturer, pleased with himself. He'd found the replacement hubcaps he needed for the Marquis, and had added them to a shipment of other spares he had coming in over the next few days. Another dealer had promised to track down some Mercury engine parts and let him know.

Knowing that car was sitting outside in the lot made him so happy, and every time he thought about the Marquis it now brought up not only the good memories of him and John working on her, but now also thoughts of his amazing fiancé and the way he'd been so thoughtful in tracking it down for him.

He smiled and put his feet up on his desk, listening to his men downstairs work on the cars they had in. He had taken on three new ex-convict employees in the last two months, and they were all proving their mettle. Machinery whirred and wrenches clanked, engines roared to life and damn it, he was actually really content with life right now.

The day his parents had died, everything had gone downhill for him. He'd let their passing change the course of his life for the worse and, however much he regretted that, it was something he couldn't change. He thought about Mary Ann and Aunt Deb, and how they wouldn't believe Steve was in the position he was in now.

Deb had been informed by his lawyer on his request when he was caught by the police and would be sent to Halawa; he'd wanted them to at least know where he was. They had found out about all the trouble he'd got into since leaving them on the mainland, and were so ashamed that they hadn't even come to his trial. He couldn't blame them for that.

But now look at him; out early on good behaviour, owner of a garage, engaged to a good man – a cop – who cared for him and accepted him fully for who he was. Well, there would be the initial shock that he was with a guy at all, as he'd never really been involved in anything but straight relationships when he was younger, certainly not that they knew about, but the main surprise would be that he was now an upstanding member of society, that he'd turned his life around.

Maybe it was time to contact them again. Maybe they could forgive.

He was pulled from his reverie by the sounds of someone coming up the stairs to his office, and he'd barely pulled his feet from the desktop before Danny burst through his door. He was utterly confused, because it was only two o'clock and the blonde wasn't due to collect him until later.

He looked his lover up and down, taking in the ruffled appearance, wild eyes and the twitching fingers, and the fact he still appeared to be wearing his tactical vest.

"Danny?"

The detective closed the door behind him and leaned against it heavily, hands scrubbing at his jaw.

"Sorry, sorry I'm early I just... Needed to come see you..." He pressed his fingers against his eyes, trying to stop his frustration bubbling over into tears.

Steve was getting up from his desk and coming around to him, the concern on his face creasing his brow. "Danny, what's happened?"

The taller man reached out but Danny stepped to the side, away from him, still feeling too tense and needing the space more than he needed the intimacy. Steve looked confused, but dropped his hands away.

"They were fucking _dead_ ," he growled, "We got a god damn lead, Kono tracked this boat that looked like it was involved, and we get there two find two dead guys on board and no _fucking_ way of moving forward! It doesn't make any sense!"

He kicked out at the trash can next to his fiancé's desk and set it rocking.

"I'm so sorry, Danny," Steve said quietly.

"I mean, can we not just catch a _break_? There's some bastard out there responsible for this little girl's death and the universe is just _fucking us over_!"

Steve jumped backwards as Danny lashed out suddenly, slamming his fist hard into the wall. A poster fell down, some dust floated down from a ready-formed crack in the ceiling of the old building, and Danny grunted and brought his fist into his chest to cradle it.

Pain radiated down from his knuckles, through his wrist and forearm, but he wasn't even sure if he regretted the impact because while it had hurt it had at least felt good to vent his anger a little.

"Fuck!" He shouted out, gritting his teeth. "Shit, fuck!"

Steve recovered from his shock and stepped forward to grasp Danny's arms and turn him to face him.

"Hey hey, what are you doing?" he asked, pulling the shorter man into him and wrapping his long arms around his shoulders and trapping his arms between their bodies so he didn't do anything else to hurt himself. He tucked Danny's head in under his chin and squeezed.

The cop pressed his face into Steve's collarbone and released a ragged sigh. "All we can do is wait. Wait until the crime scene guys have searched the boat and the reports come back on the bodies and I am done. I am so _done_ with waiting, Steve..."

The mechanic could feel the tension coming off his man in waves. His whole body was trembling, and it put Steve on the back foot because he had honestly never seen Danny this way.

They'd had their fair share of arguments since being together, and he'd seen him stressed and frustrated and upset... but never with this amount of anger, shimmering off him like hot metal, and topped with a tired, bitter layer of sadness intent on weighing him down. He felt heavy just looking at his fiancé, could see the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Danny breathed in Steve's scent, loved how it was mixed with the smell of motor oil and the sharp tang of metal from the garage. He screwed his eyes shut, concentrating only on the man he was being held up against; the heat of his body, the thud of his heart, the feel of his lips pressing into his hair.

He slowed his breathing and let himself get lost in Steve. His oasis in the desert.

"C'mere," the brunette whispered after a minute. His fingers slid in under Danny's chin and tilted his face up so their eyes could meet.

They gazed at one another for a long minute, Steve searching him carefully with his hazel eyes, worry tugging at his brow. Their ability to communicate, almost to a psychic level, kicked in.

Without a word spoken, the mechanic asked him if he was alright, what he could do to help, and Danny told him he wasn't, not by a long shot... but he would be. He just needed Steve close, needed that break from reality, and he would feel better.

There was something about being with his lover that helped him focus, blotting out everything else. Steve gave him the short term vacation from everything else which enabled him to return refreshed and reinvigorated. Especially now, locked away in this tiny room with the window shuttered and the door closes; the world outside held at bay.

But he couldn't let this pressure ruin everything. The last thing he wanted was for history to repeat itself.

"I love you," he murmured softly, "I love you so much, and I'm so so sorry that I just can't-"

Steve's lips cut him off with a gentle kiss, and he drew in a sharp breath through his nose as the sensation took over. The mechanic worked his hands up into Danny's hair and threaded into his messy locks, carefully holding him in place.

When they finally broke apart, neither one opened their eyes, just leaning their foreheads together.

"Don't ever apologise for your emotions, Danno," Steve comforted him, "I love _every_ part of you."

Danny shuddered out a sigh, and then he was pushing his hands up under his fiancé's shirt, crushing their mouths back together and slipping his tongue into the brunette's mouth; telling him exactly what he needed and what he meant. The kiss deepened and their hands grew more frantic, Steve ripping at the velcro fastenings of his tactical gear while he practically tore the taller man's shirt over his head.

They separated their mouths and threw all of their energy into stripping each other, and Steve had a moment of sense where he stepped away to reach over and click the lock of his office door into place.

When he turned back, Danny was leaning back against his desk, naked and panting, watching him from under lowered, sandy lashes. He knew the blonde loved to be taken and owned, have his power stolen from him forcefully, but Steve got the impression today that he should give some of that control back in some way. He would still own his lover, but he would also let Danny own him.

He took hold of Danny's biceps and moved them both around so that his own bare ass was against the edge of the desk and Danny was between his legs.

"I want you to fuck me, Danny," he purred, licking along the line of the detective's lips and savouring the excited gasp that escaped his mouth.

His fingers curled tight into Steve's thighs and he closed his eyes, going into a rough, filthy kiss which the brunette won with ease.

Steve bit at his lips, along his jaw and up to his ear, all the while letting his hot breath skate over Danny's skin and enjoying every moan and gasp it produced in his lover. Then he got his ass up on the desk and leaned backwards so he could reach the drawers on the other side, where he knew a bottle of lube was hidden for just these kind of moments.

Danny took his opportunity to get his mouth on the tanned expanse of the mechanic's chest and stomach, and he slid the hard length of his cock along Steve's as he supported himself over him and ducked down to lick and bite and suck, stubble scraping on smooth skin.

The brunette leaned up on his elbows and hooked his heels around the backs of Danny's thighs to pull him in close, arching up into him as he blazed a trail of fire down his torso.

Then the detective was backing up enough to take his cock into his mouth, and Steve grasped his hair and pushed up into him as he swallowed him back. His slick heat felt glorious, and he moaned and lay back, using his fiancé's mouth to pleasure himself.

Danny bobbed his head, enjoying the silky feel of his man's hot skin against his tongue, and ran his strong hands over Steve's abs, gripping wantonly and drawing a growl from his chest.

"Fuck, Danny..." Steve groaned, pushing the bottle of lube into one of his lover's hands. "Come on, I want your cock and you're gonna give it to me..."

He let Danny pull up off him, already gasping from the blow job, and shifted his ass to the edge of the desk, ready.

Danny loved it when Steve was rough with him, and had learned the best ways to receive his dick into his throat without choking. His hair was twisted sharply, and he followed the hand that dragged him forward into a hard kiss which he moaned into.

He blindly dribbled lube onto his fingers and their cocks, leaned one hand on the desk and gently pushed one finger into Steve's ass while the taller man rocked his hips back to give him access.

Steve grunted against him, but when he tried to pull his hand back strong fingers wrapped around his wrist to force him back in. His mouth was ravaged by his lover while the taller man took control of his hand, moving his finger in and out of him in exactly the way he wanted.

Steve pulled back from the kiss long enough to growl the word "More," at him before forcing his tongue back between his lips.

Danny obediently pressed a second finger in with the first, still under Steve's control in every other aspect. Depth, speed, angle; that was all up to his lover, regardless of the fact it was his hand being used.

Then his hand was being pushed away, his wrist released, and Steve's deft fingers were curling around his cock and bringing him forward. He was positioned at the entrance to his lover's body, and Steve let go of him and took hold of his throat instead. Danny's head was completely immobilised, with the other man's right hand on his neck and his left still gripping his hair.

The kiss was finally broken, and he gasped in air and squeezed his eyes shut, determined not to do anything without Steve's permission. It was so unbelievably tempting to just drive forward into that tight, waiting hole he was pressed up to, but he wanted even more for Steve to be the one to say when.

The mechanic smiled wolfishly. "You want to fuck me, baby? You wanna slide your thick cock into me? Come inside me?"

Danny released a pathetic whimper and jerked forward minutely, managing to stop himself at the last second from breaching Steve's ass. He gritted his teeth against the need to just take him, feeling his control eroding away with each passing second.

"Oh god, Steve, yes… I need you..." His voice was strained and raw and needy, and he just didn't care about that right now. "Please baby, _please_..."

The brunette hummed and kissed Danny firmly and lovingly. As he did, he pressed his heels into his fiancé's rounded ass and pulled him forward into him. He moaned at the sensation of being filled, the delicious stretch and the slight edge of pain overridden by pleasure, squeezing the blonde's throat tighter and owning his mouth with his tongue.

Danny felt so heavy and unyielding as he slipped deeper inside his channel; while Steve usually preferred to top, and Danny liked to bottom, the occasional swap in roles was just as much fun, and never really seemed to affect their sexual dynamic. Steve still dominated, and Danny still complied with every command, and that was the way they loved to do it.

But god, this felt so amazing, so exquisite and fulfilling, and when Danny's cock nudged against his prostate as he slid in to the hilt, Steve remembered exactly why he enjoyed being the recipient from time to time.

He pulled back and they leaned their foreheads together while Danny caught his breath and Steve let the endorphins begin to flow through his blood stream.

Danny refused to let himself move, just allowing himself to soak in the sensations of being buried within his lover's tight hole, surrounded by velvet heat. He supported himself on the desk, hands planted firmly either side of Steve's hips while the brunette tightened the hand at his throat reactively, concentrating on his own breathing. The dull ache in his right hand and wrist from hitting the wall was fading, allowing him to concentrate fully on the way Steve felt around him.

"Danny," Steve whispered, and the cop opened his eyes to see deep hazel pools gazing back at him, his pupils blown wide with lust and desire.

He bit his own lip. "Steve..."

Those heavy, dark lashes fluttered as the taller man's eyes flickered down to Danny's lips, his chest, his dick where it entered the ex-con's body.

"Fuck me, Danny..."

The broken whimper that exited his lips was the definition of relief, and he placed one hand on Steve's hip as a counterpoint to pull out of him, before thrusting back in.

Both men groaned at the electricity that seemed to zip through their bodies, tension increasing and heat building as Danny rolled his hips and pumped into his lover.

Steve once again drew him into a rough kiss, his desire heightening with every drive and every stimulus of his prostate.

"Fuck... Danny... yes... come on... fuck me harder..."

Steve's words were spoken against his lips and filled with heat and promise, and goosebumps broke out down Danny's spine as he hammered harder and faster into his man.

He lost himself to the feeling, growled out as he fucked into Steve with all the force he could muster, while the brunette pulled him in hard with his heels in the small of Danny's back.

Paperwork and stationery fell off the desk as it shifted under them, and Danny could feel his orgasm building at the base of his spine.

He moved a hand to grip Steve's cock between them, caressing him with smooth strokes that matched the rhythm of his own thrusts, and he suddenly felt the need to have more, do more, take more.

He got a knee up on the desk, under Steve's thigh, not even waiting to see if the other man protested, and pushed off from the floor with the other foot. The mechanic grunted against him, but tilted his pelvis upward and let him change their position, and soon he was fully up on the wooden surface, thrusting into Steve missionary-style with abandon.

Danny was now hitting Steve's prostate with every strike, his hand massaging his lover's cock expertly, and the ex-con barely had a moment to savour the new set of sensations before he came over his own chest and Danny's hand. He pulled back from the kiss and shouted out, before sinking his teeth into Danny's collarbone and biting down hard.

The blonde's climax was torn from his belly, and he forced his cock into Steve as deeply as he could to spill his heat inside him. The feeling of taking his lover so intimately was incredible, and it mixed in with the sharp pain in his shoulder and the bubbling passion of his intense release to completely wipe him out.

He sagged against Steve's chest when his lover released his throat and removed his teeth from his flesh, and he let the lethargic ecstasy flow through his veins and pull him down into a calm serenity.

When he came back to himself, his sweat-slick chest was stuck to Steve's with cum, and the mechanic was carding his fingers gently through Danny's hair while he caught his own breath.

"Holy fuck..." he sighed, finally finding the energy to push himself up onto his hands and pull his softening dick from his lover's body, "That was fucking amazing..."

Steve chuckled and slipped both of his hands onto Danny's face, leaning up to kiss him.

"Jesus Christ, Danno. I do like it when you use your initiative!" He laughed and gave him an affectionate smile.

Danny looked around them, at their position on the desk and what used to be the contents of that desk now littering the floor. He didn't normally try to steal back control like that, usually content to do whatever Steve wanted, and whereas it wasn't something he felt like he would do regularly he realised that today it had been something he'd needed.

He gazed down at the man below him, blissed out and fucked out, and shook his head in awe. How had he known to let Danny do that? How had he sensed what his lover required and known to relinquish some of that power he usually fought so hard to keep?

"I don't deserve you," he said quietly.

Steve stared deeply into his eyes, frowned, and then reached up to tug sharply on his hair and bite at his throat.

"Don't you dare say that, Daniel Williams," he growled playfully against his stubbled skin, his voice tinged with humour to lighten his fiancé's sadness. Then he was rolling them over so Danny was underneath him and he could attack every inch of flesh over his neck and chest. "Don't you fucking dare."

Danny giggled manically as Steve's nips and licks tickled his skin, and he wriggled under the assault.

"Gerroff, you bastard!" he yelped, grasping at the ex-con and pushing at his shoulders, though he wasn't really putting his all into trying to win this one.

Steve cackled and lifted himself up, kissing Danny hard on the lips, and then lovingly on the tip of his nose and his forehead.

"Don't you dare think that, Danny. Ever. You're mine, and I'm yours, and you're just gonna have to accept that, okay? Deal?" Steve smiled gently, but his eyes told the cop in a more stern way that he wasn't allowed to doubt his worth. Not ever.

Danny pressed his lips together tightly and nodded. "Okay," he said, "Deal."

The taller man climbed off him, and Danny sat up and looked down at the mess they'd made.

He'd left the boat club, and the crime scene, fully intending to head straight back to the Palace and wallow in his office. Frustration had crackled under his skin at the knowledge that he now had to sit and wait for the crime scene techs to analyse the boat for evidence of Maggie's presence, despite his gut feeling telling him those men were one hundred per cent involved in this because there was just too much coincidence for them not to be.

The team needed to work on identifying the men using the marina's records and their photographs and fingerprints, although cause of death needed no such confirmation – the bullet wounds made it pretty obvious what had happened there. Just not _why_. But Meka and Chin had left ahead of him to make a start on that, while Kono stayed at the scene, and he felt like he would just get in their way if he attempted to help whilst so on edge.

But then he'd thought of Steve, and his instincts had made him change direction at the very next opportunity and aim for the garage instead.

Steve would always be his anchor, and at that moment with Danny's emotions threatening to overwhelm him and stop him from doing his job with the right kind of focus, he had recognised what he needed. Steve just seemed to know what to say and what to do, and Danny knew without a doubt that the best decision he'd ever made in his life was to propose to this perfect man.

They re-dressed, and he helped his lover put his possessions back in place on the desk and collect his scattered papers. Steve took hold of his aching wrist and kissed delicately over the knuckles which were beginning to bruise up a little, before reaching up to loop his tie into place and give it a little tug.

Danny knew his fiancé was concerned, that much was evident.

"I need to write up my report from the raid this morning," he said, "I'll have a shower at work at then I'll be back just after five for you."

Steve glared at him. " _Some_ people are lucky enough to have showers at their workplace," he grumbled, humour bleeding through in his voice, "While others will have to be content with a spot clean in the bathroom..."

Danny gave him a guilty look. "Ew. Um, sorry babe..."

The brunette shook his head and laughed. "I think I can deal with it, Danno, I'll just hide out in my office. You get back to work, I'll see you later."

His fiancé seemed lighter now, more determined and settled, and Steve was only glad that he had a part in helping him achieve that.

"I love you, Steven," the shorter man cupped his lover's jaw and kissed him sweetly.

"I love you too, Daniel," he grinned against his lips. And Steve was already formulating a plan to keep his man occupied tonight.

"Hi again," Danny gave his fiancé a little wave as he exited the large front doors of the garage and hit the mechanical lever to bring the heavy door to the building down.

"You posing for a calendar there, Danno?" Steve teased.

The cop looked down at himself, leaned up against the Marquis in the lot where it sat with the other cars Steve's team were working on, thumbs in his belt loops and one leg bent so his foot could rest against the driver-side door. He was bathed in the afternoon sunlight, and it probably looked like he'd done it on purpose.

"If I were, I'd probably be lying on the Camaro and not _this_ heap of junk," he chuckled, and received a mock glare from his man.

"When I'm done with that baby, she'll be so sexy you can't resist her," he locked up and headed directly for Danny, pressing his body up against the blonde's and his mouth to Danny's ear, "And the first thing I'll do is spread you out on her hood..."

The detective shivered. "Hurry up and finish her then, huh?" he grinned.

Steve pulled back to kiss him, then reached down to take his hand and tow him across the asphalt to the front gates.

"Come on, we're going home so I can have my way with you, then we're having a shower and going out for dinner."

Danny opened his car door and winced as he looked over the roof at Steve while he chained the gates. "I'm sorry baby, I'm not sure if I feel up to going out tonight..."

"Trust me, Danno," the brunette climbed into the passenger side seat, "You'll like this place..."

One hour and a shared shower later, they were in Steve's Silverado and headed to the surprise venue.

"You wanna talk about work, or avoid the subject?" Steve asked. He wanted to establish early on whether Danny needed to vent or keep things to himself.

"I dunno..." the cop sighed and leaned his head back against the seat, "Not much has changed since this afternoon, honestly."

He didn't want to throw too much information at his lover, especially as he wasn't party to much of the investigation anyway. He was also very aware of putting too much pressure on the two of them – it wasn't fair to lean on Steve... Maybe it was best to just keep it bottled up, keep things separate while he still could. Steve didn't deserve that.

The techs had confirmed the GPS locator on the boat showed it to be out in the right region of the ocean in the time frame when the victim's body would have been dumped, so the team were all pretty damn sure the dead men were involved. IDs had come through to show they were both locals with some prior records for theft and weapons-related crimes, both having done time in prison, but how that connected them to possible abduction was unclear. Five-0 just needed to work out how, and why, and who had killed them.

Their theories about Maggie's abduction were now settled around possible slavery or sex trade motives, but normally they would be seeing several children go missing at once under those circumstances. Looked at clinically, one child at a time was just not profitable. And if it were the case that her kidnappers didn't know about her heart condition and she had died because of their ineptitude, the men may have panicked and thrown her overboard, and that might well have been the reason they were killed. They had accidently let the whole thing become a murder investigation, instead of a missing persons case – the body was evidence that something more was going on, and someone else had been very unhappy about that.

Danny picked at the inseam of his jeans while he stared out of the window. "There's at least one other person involved, and maybe they clipped those guys because of what happened with the victim, maybe... I dunno, maybe they found out something they shouldn't, or were getting too high risk... It's another dead end, and I'm beginning to wonder if we're gonna solve this one."

He went quiet and bit at his lip, and Steve felt his heart tug. Danny was doubting himself, and that alone made him feel sick. He put a hand out and squeezed his fiancé's thigh.

"You'll work it out, Danny. You've got a great team, and you're a brilliant cop. You'll get justice for that little girl." He tried to express as much confidence as he could through the statement. He honestly believed there wasn't anything his Danny couldn't do... He was just worried about the effects on his lover in the interim.

The blonde just nodded and looked down at his hands in his lap.

"I hope so, Steve..."

They turned a corner into a residential area, and Danny finally looked up and took in their location.

"I thought we were going out for dinner, why are we in this neighbourhood?"

Steve flashed him a quick smile. "I figured you might need something a little more special than your average restaurant."

The Silverado was guided into the driveway of the Edwards household, and the ex-con leaned out of the window and hit the intercom.

It buzzed a greeting, and he replied. "Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams, we're expected."

Seconds later, the tall gates were opening and they were pulling up to the house.

Danny stared at his lover until he eventually looked over at him. "Explain?"

"After I saw you earlier, I figured you might need some Grace time, so I called Rachel. She and I are gonna fix dinner, you can relax with your daughter and a beer or three. How's that?"

Danny just looked at him with an open mouth, glanced at the house where he could see Rachel through the glass, coming to the front door to welcome them, and then back at Steve.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you, you giant fucking goof?" he grinned.

God, this was just what he needed. His little girl, his gorgeous fiancé, and his ex-wife – whom he was on much better terms with recently – being there for him. The beer was a plus. Rachel was more a friend than an ex these days anyway, and he was so grateful that she was allowing him more time with his daughter on a day he wasn't necessarily due it.

"You've told me many times, but I'd very much like for it to continue," Steve laughed.

They leaned in to one another to kiss, and then climbed out of the car and headed inside.

Danny was sitting with Grace on the couch, sipping a beer and helping with her homework by the time Steve and Rachel were almost ready to dish up the food. The two brunettes had worked easily together in the large kitchen, with Rachel showing Steve exactly what a proper British roast dinner was all about.

A whole chicken cooked to perfection with crispy skin, mashed potato, roasted potatoes, steamed carrots and green beans, and Yorkshire puddings – which Steve had discovered were not puddings at all in the conventional sense – to top it all off, and she was now showing him how to do what was, in her opinion, the best gravy. She poured some of the chicken stock from the roasting tin into the mix while Steve stirred.

"How is Stan's trip going?" he asked.

"Oh, it's the same old thing," she sighed, "He's away for another week, working pretty much constantly, and when he does have downtime the time difference means I'm often in bed asleep... the pains of international travel..."

The mechanic nodded. "That must be frustrating."

"I won't lie, it is. But I have Grace to keep me company... and you two, of course," she gave him a full, genuine smile, "I was really happy when you called earlier, Steve. I know how much Danny and Grace love to spend time together, and it's lovely that you're looking out for him."

Steve finished stirring and opened the oven to start bringing out all the food. "It's kind of my job," he smiled.

"But it's not, Steve. You do know that, right?" When he looked over at her, her expression was carefully neutral, but her eyes spoke volumes. "I think maybe that's where I went wrong... I don't know. Just... with cases such as this one, Daniel gets very worked up. Children, especially _dead_ children..."

She trailed off and looked away, busying herself with the food.

"Yeah, he's been, uh... stressed..."

They both watched Danny and Grace across the open-plan living and dining room from where they stood the other side of the kitchen counter.

The cop seemed happier than ever, smiling and joking with his daughter, tickling her and laughing out loud with no sign of the pressures he'd been under. Just like when he was with Steve, Grace just melted his problems away and stole his focus completely, but Steve had already seen how his mood could dip the moment any other distractions were removed. When they left after dinner, he would be sad once more, maybe even worse than before they arrived after having to leave Grace again.

"Danny is a fantastic cop," he said, his belief in his man unwavering, "He has this amazing knowledge and instinct when it comes to police work, and an unbeatable drive to constantly do the very best job he can, all the time..."

Rachel nodded sagely, but she cocked her head to one side and gazed at him, knowing there was more to what he was saying.

Steve felt so guilty for voicing his concerns, but he knew he needed to speak to someone who would understand, and lord knew he couldn't say anything to one of the team. Chin, Kono and Meka were his friends and he could go to them with anything, he knew that... but not when it was about their boss. Not when it might have an effect on the way Five-0 functioned and make them question their leader's capabilities.

"It's just... it's a little frightening to see him as... unhinged as he has been the last couple of days..."

He frowned at himself and rubbed his eyes with the thumb and fingers of one hand, while the other arm hugged his own chest for comfort. It didn't feel right to say these things and he was almost angry at the relief he felt for finally talking about it to another person. But Rachel would understand more than most.

The British woman nodded, dishing out the mashed potatoes onto the four plates. "I saw his knuckles... I'm guessing a wall took the brunt of that?"

The way she asked implied she had witnessed something similar before.

Steve nodded. "My office wall. Why, did he..?"

"Several walls in our apartment in Jersey, lord knows however many at the precinct, and there were a few innocent inanimate objects which didn't survive the ordeal..." Rachel gave him a wry smile, "He's passionate. Which is wonderful, until it's not."

These revelations had spiked Steve's curiosity, and as they finished plating up the food he placed a hand on Rachel's arm to pause her.

"Did all this happen on one case?"

She pressed her lips together, obviously wondering if she should be sharing this. Grace's laugh rang out from the other side of the room and they both looked up to see Danny holding her upside-down by one ankle while she tried to grab at him. The scene was in such juxtaposition to their discussion, it was almost jarring.

"The vast majority, yes..." She took a deep breath. "Listen, I'm sure you've worked out through your time with Danny that the main reason he and I fell apart was due to his work," she put up defensive hands to ward off any comments, "And that's _not_ to say it was his fault, it's just that... I couldn't take the long, unpredictable shifts and the worry about whether he was out getting hurt or worse in the line of duty. I'm sure you get that?"

Steve nodded. There was no denying he worried about his fiancé – the man had got shot in the head in front of him for god sakes! He'd been so lucky to survive that, and he still had the scar hidden in his hair line to prove it wasn't just some horrendous nightmare. So yes, Steve was fully aware of where Rachel was coming from.

"But it's what he's built for," she looked over at Danny, eyes still full of adoration for the man, "He's a father first and a cop second, and maybe I couldn't handle coming in third... but there was no way I could stop him from doing what he does." Her voice was wistful, but he could see she had decided long ago that she had made the right decision as far as ending their marriage was concerned.

The mechanic didn't completely agree with her assessment, however. Danny was a father first and foremost, but he didn't believe the Jersey man ranked his work above his love. That may have been the way his ex-wife had felt, and her feelings were valid of course. It was a different relationship and Steve couldn't comment on it – he hadn't been there – but when it came to Danny and Steve he just _knew_ he wasn't an afterthought. He had to be seen as more important than that, right?

His own fears began to creep in to the back of his mind, and he attempted to block them and push them away, but now they had made themselves known they were impossible to ignore. Maybe they had been there all along, maybe that's what the unease was that he had been feeling.

"There was one case, a big one. This man killed four children over the space of three months before they were able to catch him. Danny was deeply involved in that investigation. He had just made Sergeant, and he takes things so personally when the victims are so young... He had nightmares, couldn't sleep, we barely saw one another, and when we did it just caused arguments," she looked up at Steve and gave him a hopeful smile, "I hope it's different for you, I really do, and you certainly seem to be handling things better than I did... but if I'm honest, it was probably that case that finally ended us. It wasn't just that, of course, there were other things we couldn't work past, but that was probably the last straw. We split up a month after it was solved."

She picked up two of the plates and motioned with a tip of her head that they should go and eat.

Steve collected the other two dishes and followed her to the table, and Grace and Danny joined them both displaying huge smiles. The detective had regained his sparkle, even if it was temporary.

The ex-con watched his lover as Danny chatted happily with Rachel and their daughter, and they all ate the delicious roast. He appreciated Rachel's honesty with him; she was obviously trying to protect Steve as much as Danny, and that was sweet and well-meant.

What she had said worried him, but he tried to focus not on the similarities between his relationship with Danny and Rachel's marriage to him, but instead on the differences. Danny had said it himself, Steve was the first and only person to dominate him sexually, to show him what it could mean to be owned and used and wanted in that way, with all the trust and love that should come with it.

Maybe, just maybe, that could be their saving grace. Danny had a release with Steve that he hadn't had before, and perhaps the verbal fights he'd had with his ex were being replaced by a more physical alternative. He had a pressure valve now to take him back down to a safe level and prevent him from blowing up.

Steve just had to hope that were true, and something told him that their seemingly perfect balance didn't just end at the bedroom door. Maybe he was everything that Danny needed, as much as his lover completed Steve in so many ways.

The blonde man looked over at him, and their eyes met across the table. His smile crinkled the corners of his blue eyes, and at least on the surface, in this moment, he was happy. Steve grinned back and winked at his lover, playfully.

Maybe they would be fine; he just had to think positive.


	5. Boy Trouble

Steve drifted back to consciousness, a sleepy voice in the back of his mind telling him something was missing. He reached out to Danny lying next to him, but found only empty space.

He peeled his eyes open and stared at the clock on the bedside table, and the little green numbers told him it was almost 4am. Where the hell was his fiancé?

He lay there for a few minutes, thinking the blonde may have got up to use the bathroom or get a glass of water, but when he didn't return Steve forced himself to get out of bed and track him down.

It didn't take long, because as soon as he got out into the corridor he spotted the soft light coming from under the door to the living room and kitchen. When he nudged it open Danny was there, sitting at the table in only sweatpants and hunched over his laptop, looking like sleep hadn't hung around for him very long.

The detective was leaning on one elbow, palm supporting his chin and fingers curled over his mouth. His brow was creased in concentration, and his usually sparkling blue eyes were flat and tired. His other hand was clicking away on the mouse every few seconds. He looked dead tired.

Danny sighed as he shuffled through files he felt like he'd seen five hundred times. And possibly he had, because he kept going back, double checking witness statements and coroner's reports, telling himself he'd missed something vital... because Jesus Christ, what if he had? What if there was something he should have seen, the key to the whole thing, and he didn't spot it and another kid was taken? What if he didn't do his job right and another little girl died? What if?

Steve clearing his throat across the room made him practically leap from his chair, and he smoothed his messy hair back into place out of nervous habit.

"You're a fucking ninja, you know that?" he grumbled, though he was kind of glad to see his lover padding across the room, looking deliciously sleepy in just his boxers.

"And _you're_ meant to be in bed..." came the amused retort.

The detective glanced at the clock and inwardly berated himself. He'd told himself at half past one when he woke that he'd only work for an hour to clear his head – allay his fears and put those intrusive, messy thoughts down for the night – and now it was four in the morning. Idiot.

He rubbed his face. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

Steve shook his head and leaned on the chair across the table from him. "Only by not being where you should be," he gave his fiancé an understanding smile, "Come back to bed..."

Danny wrestled with the idea, but he could hear his brain whirring away like white noise which he knew wouldn't allow him rest.

"I can't babe, I feel like I should be working on this. I can't get my head to stop spinning." He pushed his face into his hands and huffed out a humourless laugh. "I know I'm just making myself tired, but if I'm gonna be awake, I may as well be productive, right?"

Danny looked up at the brunette when he moved around the table and leaned against it, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You know that's not how it works, Danno," he said softly, "You're exhausting yourself."

He cast his eyes over the laptop, grainy CCTV images of an empty suburban road filling the screen, and his heart tugged. Danny was putting so much pressure on himself, and he understood why. It was about Grace, no matter how much the blonde might claim otherwise – when it was about kids, it was about Grace, and Steve knew he would be the same. He adored that little girl almost as much as her father, and would do anything to protect her. He'd never been great with kids, but he'd found it came naturally with their little Monkey.

"Come on, you've got to get away from all this. I'll help you get to sleep," he kissed his lover's bed-mussed hair and squeezed his arm.

Danny looked down at the brunette's hand on his forearm and huffed again in an attempt to release tension.

His lover was right, of course he was, but he couldn't stop his mind working unpaid overtime. The words on the screen were starting to dance and swim in front of his exhausted eyes, but he'd been forcing himself to continue and only gaining a headache as a reward.

Steve moved around to Danny's back, letting his hands smooth over the man's bare shoulders and begin to work the knots out of the muscles there. The cop closed his eyes and let out a sigh of frustration, trying to let his lover help him relax. When he opened his eyes, the case still glared back at him from the laptop, and he tensed again.

Steve noted the reaction and leaned forward over Danny with one hand to close the computer lid, firmly and silently telling him he was done for the night. If he wasn't going to come when asked, he was going to be told instead. That hand went back to the blonde's shoulder, but then slid up to his neck, wrapping strong fingers around the column of his throat and squeezing.

The detective's eyes slid shut and his mind finally blanked as his lover's grip became his sole focus once again. Steve's fingers tightened and yanked his head to one side suddenly, exposing his neck and shoulder to the taller man. Teeth nipped up from his collarbone to his ear, tracing the line of the tendon which connected the two, and then those teeth clamped down over the artery and dug in.

Steve's deep growl reverberated through his body, and his hands slipped over to Danny's chest and kneaded at his pecs, scratching nails over his nipples.

Danny gasped and jerked, and the ex-con bit down harder, almost hard enough to mark. He froze, hand gripping the sides of his chair while Steve established his dominance and forced him to stay still.

Then the brunette was releasing his bite, grasping Danny's biceps and hauling him out of his seat.

"You're coming with me," he snarled, shoving his fiancé in the direction of the doorway. He fully intended to ensure his man was thinking of nothing but Steve – he wanted it, and Danny needed it.

Danny let himself be guided through the house and brought to the bed, not resisting but simultaneously letting Steve be the one to push and shove and haul, to take charge and instigate his command. The taller man hooked his fingers into the waistband of Danny's sweatpants and pulled them down for him to step out of.

He was made to face the bed, shoved down so he was bent forward with his hands supporting himself on the mattress but so that he was still standing, and then the mechanic was tugging the drawer open, bringing the lube out. Seconds later two slicked fingers were nudging their way inside his hole.

His ankles were kicked further apart, and he moaned and pressed back, taking all of it and wanting more, desperate for what the other man could give him.

"Mm, so fucking hungry for me, baby..." Steve purred appreciatively, "I'm gonna give you a reward if you behave yourself for me, you gonna do that, huh?"

His fingers pumped into him, joined by a third to open him up.

Danny grunted and balled the sheets into his fist. "God... Yeah... I will, Steve. I need you..."

The brunette would never get tired of hearing that, knowing his lover craved him and wanted every inch of him, loved to take everything he could give. He rewarded him by twisting his fingers and massaging his prostate, and Danny cried out and bucked forward.

Steve pulled his fingers out to remove his boxers and slick up his cock, gratified to see Danny stay in position, waiting for him. He closed his fist over his lover's dick and stroked him a few times, bending down to nip a red line across his fiancé's ass cheeks before forcing his tongue into the loosed ring of muscle, pulling Danny's cheeks apart to push in deeper.

"Oh fuck, Steve..." the blonde gasped and arched his back, and the ex-con hummed happily against his hole, flexing his tongue. "Oh god, feels so good..."

The mechanic lathered him with attention, getting him slick and needy. Then he was withdrawing, shoving Danny down to lay on the bed, placing his knees either side of the cop's on the mattress and lining up quickly to drive home into him.

Danny cried out as he was filled, suddenly and forcefully, and he groaned and pushed up from the bed, the muscles in his shoulders and back tensing and seizing.

Steve barely waited for him to adjust before pulling out and pounding back into him, taking him as hard and as deep as he could, digging marks into the detective's hips with his fingers.

"Oh fuck baby, so tight, so hot for me..." He took deep breaths to centre himself, using his purchase on Danny's body to lift up and plunge back down over and over, owning his ass and taking what was his.

The blonde hissed and cursed and writhed under him, grasping at the bedding and pressing up against him, and Steve slipped one hand around to lay across under his chest while the other went to lace into Danny's hair and hold tight. He thrust into him a few more times before he used his weight to flip them, still encased inside his lover, until he was lying on his back on the bed and Danny was on top over him, back flush to his stomach and chest.

Steve moved his legs, knees coming up to part his lover's thighs and spread his own legs wide to force Danny's further apart. The ex-con bent his knees, planting his feet on the mattress, and began driving up to hammer into Danny's ass.

The detective shouted out, his eyes flying wide, and Steve took hold of both of his flailing wrists and brought them to his chest where he wrapped his arm across them to pin them there. His other hand went back to take hold of Danny's hair and wrench his head to the side again so his teeth and tongue could attack his shoulder once more.

"Fuck, Steve!" Danny gasped and arched his spine, unable to cope with the intense pleasure racing through his body.

The position meant that Steve's cock pushed hard against his prostate on every upward thrust, and he was completely at the ex-con's mercy the way he was held open, exposed and vulnerable; it was virtually impossible to fight back, even if he had wanted to. His brain short circuited under the barrage of sensation, only able to moan Steve's name, interspersed with curses and half-formed words that exited his lips as wretched, broken noises.

The mechanic pummelled up into his lover, giving his thighs and abs a full-throttle workout. The feeling of his tight channel tensing around him, his slick heat, was absolutely amazing. To have their entire upper bodies pressed together, Steve's fiancé held to his chest so tightly and making those erotic, carnal sounds, caused the coiled feeling inside his stomach to constrict, taking him closer.

The hand in Danny's hair let go, and nails left red rows down his side before Steve's fingers wrapped around his cock and massaged firmly.

"Fuck, Steve fuck, I'm gonna come. Oh god..." He gasped and panted, electricity surging through his body with every thrust from his lover, the whole thing becoming overwhelming for him. He wanted to reach out, take hold, claw at Steve and grip him tight, but he could only flex his fingers where they were held against his chest and dig his nails into his own flesh.

Every drive pushed another strangled noise from his lungs, and he writhed and strained against Steve's hold, not really wanting him to let go, just needing to have something to fight against and deplete his energy reserves until he and his body would have no choice but to give in.

The brunette squeezed Danny tighter, stroked him harder, dragging him to the edge of ecstasy before he would let his own finish take hold. He licked a long line up the cop's neck, and then darted back down to dig his teeth into his shoulder.

Danny's world went white, and he practically screamed out as he came hard, cum striping over his stomach as he lost control of his body and bucked his hips so hard Steve's dick slipped out of him.

The mechanic growled in frustration and rolled his now limp, panting lover onto his stomach again, releasing his arms so he could lean up above him and guide his cock back into his gorgeous ass, pushing in deep and hammering in violently, chasing his own orgasm until it raced through him in waves. He came deep inside Danny, filling him up with his load and gasping against his sweat-slick back before he collapsed down onto his twitching body.

It took him a few minutes to regain the energy to move, and he pulled out of the blonde and kissed him gently between his shoulder blades.

"That was fuckin' 'mazing..." Danny mumbled into the bed, and Steve chuckled and laid a line of kisses down his spine, still breathing heavily himself.

"You feeling better, baby?" He ran a firm palm up the detective's back, and Danny rolled over onto his side to face his fiancé.

"God yes... Steve, I love you so much..." He gave the brunette an affectionate smile and met his eyes, trying to communicate exactly what he meant to Danny. He was his heart and soul, and the way he seemed to know exactly what the Jersey man needed and when just took his breath away.

"I love you too," Steve whispered back, still swimming happily in the afterglow of sweet release.

Danny curled his arms under and around the man beside him, pulling him in close and tucking Steve's head under his chin.

They dozed in each other's arms until Danny's alarm went off for work at seven-thirty, but he no longer felt quite as deathly tired as he had. The endorphins in his blood stream, the distraction and physical release supplied by Steve, made him feel renewed and recharged.

He hit the button to stop the chime on his phone, got dressed, and kissed the brunette gently on the lips.

"I'll see you later tonight, babe," he whispered.

"Good luck today, Danno," the mechanic squeezed his hand, hoping at least something would go right today.

Steve pulled up at the front gates earlier than usual and stepped out of the Silverado, slipping his key into the lock that held the chains together, but paused when he found they already appeared to be open.

He lifted the padlock and stared at it for a moment, thinking carefully about yesterday afternoon. Danny had come to collect him, they walked out of the gates hand in hand to the Camaro, and yes... He'd definitely locked up.

The keyhole looked scratched, like it had been tampered with, and Steve growled to himself. He gently pushed one of the gates far enough so he could slip through the gap, but not enough to make any noise. If someone had broken into his lot, he wanted the element of surprise when he caught them.

The mechanic stalked past the row of motorbikes which were in from a local club having a service. Those would be a popular steal, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

He reached the cars parked out the front, and could see the nearest one had the hood propped up. Someone was messing with his god damn Marquis.

Steve stepped around to the side a little, getting a glimpse of the person who had their hands inside his beloved car to make sure it wasn't just one of his crew trying to be helpful... but they all knew to stay away from the Mercury, and none of them had the keys to the front gates anyhow.

He was just a kid. Roughly thirteen or fourteen, he was tall and gangly, looked local, and clothed in filthy shorts and a ripped t-shirt, topped off with old flip flops which were clearly past their best. He had his tongue stuck out of one corner of his mouth in concentration, while he worked an engine part loose with a wrench and some elbow grease. His dark, curly hair fell forward over his eyes, and he kept pushing it back so he could see.

Steve crossed his muscled arms over his chest and cocked his hips.

"I only put that in yesterday," he growled, and the boy startled and leapt back, dropping the metal part with a loud clang.

"Shit!" the kid squeaked, looking around for an exit and realising he was effectively cornered.

He went to dash the other way around the Marquis, but Steve mirrored the move and the boy stopped short. He held his hands up defensively.

"Listen kid, I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but _this_ is my garage and _that_ ," he motioned to the Marquis, "is _my_ car..."

"I'm sorry man, just don't hurt me, please..."

He looked terrified, and Steve creased his brow. He wasn't that scary, surely? Yeah, the boy had broken into his garage, he was probably expecting some sort of trouble might show up although it was early and he was probably betting on being gone before work hours, but Steve hadn't exactly threatened him.

The kid backed up, and as he passed the hood of the car again he snatched up the wrench, waving it at Steve.

"Don't come any closer, bruh. I know how to fight, I can take you down if I have to!"

The ex-con couldn't help but snort. The boy was tall but slight, and wouldn't stand a chance against Steve. He'd obviously grown up with the need to be tough, and the brunette could relate to that – he wasn't far off the age Steve was when he lost his parents, and it was that same defensive self-preservation kind of attitude which had kept him protected through his own confusing teenage years on the mainland. Assume everyone was out to do you harm, hold your ground, show them how big and how mean you are even if it was a bare-faced lie.

He straightened a little, stepping back and dropping his shoulders to look as non-threatening as possible. "Hey, I'm not gonna-"

The boy took that moment to hurl the wrench at the older man and run for the gates. Steve yelped and sidestepped the flying makeshift weapon, and then he was off after the kid.

His legs were longer and more powerful, and he caught up with him just as they closed on the entrance to the lot. The boy grasped the edge of the gate and tugged hard, and Steve was very glad he hadn't left it wide open as the delay gave him the chance to grab the kid's arm and body slam him into the chain link fence.

He fought back, howling and clawing, digging his nails into his assailant's skin in the hopes he would let go, but Steve's arm snaked around his neck in a headlock, snatched one wrist with practiced ease and brought it up behind the boy's back to disable him while he swung him back around and away from freedom.

The mechanic shoved his knee into the back of the kid's and brought him down to kneel on the asphalt.

"Stop struggling," he growled, and then softened his voice, "Listen, I'm not gonna hurt you, but I'm not letting you go either, so you're just wasting energy right now..."

The teen twisted again, but soon realised that he wasn't going to win that way, so he finally gave in, panting and gasping for air.

" _Please_ , let me go," he begged, and Steve's heart twisted.

He released the boy, straightening up and taking a step back. He looked confused as he staggered to his feet, and his brown eyes flicked to the gates behind Steve.

He looked like he hadn't had a decent meal in weeks, and the fear in his eyes struck a chord deep in Steve's chest. This boy was afraid, possibly all alone, and his anger at the attempted theft just dropped away. Force wouldn't work here, it would only end badly for the kid, with Steve having to call the cops on him.

This had happened to him – almost this exact scenario reversed – when after being in LA for only three months he had run away from Aunt Deb and stolen a car from her neighbour. He was caught by the man and had lashed out in his terror and frustration, catching him around the face and giving him a nasty black eye.

When the cops had finally turned up, that incident combined with a warning for shop lifting two weeks prior had landed him in juvenile detention for four months.

It was there he'd really begun to learn what being a young con was all about. He made the wrong kind of enemies and the even worse kind of friends, and he'd learned and fought and played the game until, upon walking out of that place, he'd gone through an intensive training course on how to be a criminal.

His parents' deaths were what had sent him down the wrong path, but juvie was the thing that had really ruined his life. If he'd maybe been given a second chance after trying to steal that car, if he hadn't hurt the man or had just been given a lighter sentence, maybe his life wouldn't have run the course it did. It had been the beginning of the end for him.

Of course, he wouldn't change it for the world now, knowing that the whole experience would eventually lead to Hawaii, to Danny and the ohana, and his garage and new found purpose... but not everyone was that lucky. _This_ kid might not be that lucky.

He had a choice right now. He could throw the boy to the police, let justice take its course and do what he should do as a member of society and a local business owner... Lord knows Danny would tell him the cops were the correct option.

But Steve knew from experience that the correct course of action and the _right thing_ weren't always the same menu item.

The ex-con sighed. "Go if you like, kid," and he stepped to one side, waiting until the teen built up the courage and darted past him to head for the way out, "But if you stay then maybe you can have a good meal... and I won't call the cops on you."

The boy paused, halfway through the gap between the gates and stared at him with wide, hungry eyes. He was still scared, but the prospect of food was overriding his need to run.

"You won't?" he asked, voice shaking.

Steve shook his head again and spread his hands out to the side, trying to show the sympathy he was feeling without coming across as condescending. He hoped the boy could see he was trustworthy. "I promise. You'll be safe. I just... you looked half starved, is all..."

The teen's wild gaze darted from Steve to the Marquis, and then back out to the road, while he chewed on his lip. He was considering his options extremely carefully, and eventually his eyes landed on the older man to study him intensely.

"What's your name?" Steve tried, hoping for an encouraging response, "I'm Steve. McGarrett."

The teen pressed his mouth into a tight line, and finally made the decision on which direction he was going in. He stepped back inside the garage lot and stuffed his hands into his shorts pockets.

"Nahele," the boy confided, "Nahele Huikala."

"We saw the money going into the accounts belonging to Akela and Stuart, paid in in cash," Kono sat next to Danny on the couch in his office with her tablet, pointing at the figures on the screen, "So Meka contacted the bank this morning and they sent over the relevant CCTV footage, but it shows them paying the money in themselves..."

Danny sighed and rubbed at his eyes, exhaustion having leaked back into his bones pretty much from the moment he'd walked in the door to the office and remembered why they were there.

"So it's another dead end..."

The black and white stills now on her screen showed two shots of the men they had found dead, Tan Akela and Anthony Stuart, walking into two different branches of the bank of Oahu within hours of each other and paying ten grand each in cold hard cash over the counters.

"Yes and no," Danny looked up to see Meka standing in the doorway with a laptop, and he beckoned his partner further into the room.

"Whatcha got, Mek?" He was desperate for anything at this point.

The Hawaiian man tucked himself in on the other side of his boss and placed the laptop on the small table, in amongst the four empty coffee cups which sat there. Only one of them was Kono's.

"I went back further in their financials, and it looks like they've paid in similar amounts before. Once two years ago, and another roughly eighteen months before that. It looks like it's not the first time they've done this."

Danny sat back and stared at the two screens. "So this time they screwed up and paid for it. Have we gone through missing persons records to see if any children's disappearances match up with these dates?"

Meka nodded. "Already on it, boss," he gave his friend a wry smile, "I think you were right yesterday when you said it wasn't an average slavery or sex trade thing, but there is definitely something organised about this."

The blonde had a thought, bringing up a picture of Maggie on Meka's computer that her parents had supplied. She was of Chinese descent, with all the classic features.

"Where would Akela and Stuart's boat have been headed?"

Kono tapped on her pad. "North. Looks like Kauai."

"There's an airstrip there, right?" He was pulling information from his fuzzy brain, facts bogged down by lack of sleep.

Meka nodded. "Yes... Yeah, there is," he leaned forward suddenly, typing a search into the laptop, catching his partner's train of thought, "And there are small and medium jets that charter out to several countries from there..."

Kono creased her brow and looked from one cop to the other. "What are you guys thinking?"

"I don't know… maybe… I think she was kidnapped to order," Danny whispered, almost to himself, "Someone looking for a child they could easily pass off as their own. And if there were other children, there may well be a way to find out who arranges this... Do they fly to Australia?" His eyes were too blurry to look for himself, and he rubbed at them and winced.

Kono looked down list on her colleague's computer. "Yeah, why?"

"There's a small Chinese population in the country. Some move there from China to escape the government's 'single child' policy, some due to the attitudes on female children. A couple may want to have a girl, but fear their family might do something to remedy the situation if the older generations were looking for a male heir..."

"That's horrible," the sniper muttered under her breath.

Danny nodded his agreement. "If a couple wanted a child, possibly a daughter, but were maybe unable to conceive one naturally... this might be an option for them."

Meka clapped him on the back. "I've got you bud, I have a good friend in the Australian police force who owes me. I can ask him to look into any whispers they have going on over there."

Kono grinned, happy to have something to move forward with. "Okay, well I can keep an eye on the missing persons report search for you, Meka, and Chin is still out talking to potential witnesses..." then she looked at Danny with soft eyes, "Meantime I think I'm gonna turn mother hen and demand that boss man has a nap..."

The Jersey man was trying to hide his yawn behind his hand and failing, and he stifled it the moment he realised Kono had noticed. "M'fine," he grumbled.

There was no way he was walking away from this right now, regardless of the weight of his eyelids and the drowsy tug of sleep on his brain.

"See this?" The young sniper pointed to her face, which had a very unimpressed expression pasted on it. "This right here is my take-no-shit-even-from-my-boss face."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Why the hell did I ever have to go and name that one?" he moaned.

For some reason the Hawaiian woman had actually liked the fact she apparently pulled that face regularly, even more so that the Five-0 leader seemed to respect her wishes when she used it, and it had stuck with her to be brought out as a weapon against him whenever she wanted her way.

"You _know_ what this face means, Danny," she said firmly, "You may be the boss, but I still give the orders around here."

The blonde chuckled. "Okay okay, fine. I will have a _short_ nap, and you can come and wake me up when you see fit." He patted the couch to signal where he intended to take his rest.

Meka had gotten up to stand in the office doorway, and the two team members exchanged a wary look. They were always looking out for him, could see he was tired beyond belief, and he realised they knew there was no way he would be able to sleep in his office without soon giving in and getting hold of a computer to work again.

"Nuh uh," Kono shook her head, "I'm driving you home in your Camaro so you don't wrap yourself around a tree, and then I'm gonna get a cab back here. _You_ ," she jabbed his chest, "are gonna go home and sleep. With _no laptop_. I don't wanna see you until tomorrow morning."

Danny glared at her and she had the sense to look a little embarrassed at her sharp attitude. "Uh..." she gulped, "With all due respect... Boss."

"Kono," he said with a warning tone, wanting so much to argue her down. He wouldn't tear her a new one over that burst of insubordination, because she was a friend and she was only looking out for him – he wasn't that type of boss – but he _did_ want to tell her he damn well wouldn't be sleeping while his team were working.

He opened his mouth again to say those exact words when his fiancé's words came back to him from that morning. _You know that's not how it works, Danno. You're exhausting yourself._

Steve was right. Kono was right. Hell, even Meka was giving him that look that told him he agreed with their colleague, and he was right too. If Chin were in the office, he'd be backing them all up.

He growled and put his head in his hands. "Fine. Put the cab on expenses," he pointed sternly at Kono and she nodded, and he picked up his laptop bag.

"No computers!" Meka ordered, and he put it down again.

"Argh, fuck the both of you!" Danny protested pitifully. "I love you so much, but fuck you all..."

His partner and sniper laughed and shepherded him out of the room, with Kono taking his keys ready to drive him home.

Chin walked in the double doors as they were on their way out, and gave them all a puzzled look.

"Don't give him any information, Chin," Meka said, "He's going home to rest."

"Oh, good," the older cop smiled at Danny, receiving only a gruff reply.

"Oh fuck you too, I knew you'd be on their side..."

When Kono pulled the Camaro into the driveway, Steve's Silverado was already sitting there. It was early afternoon, so Danny was trying to remember if his lover had told him he was having a short work day.

The cab pulled up to the kerb just as they were climbing out of the car, as they had called ahead to book it, and his colleague passed him back his keys and gave him a hug.

"Get some rest, Danny," she pecked his cheek, "We need you in the land of the living."

He nodded. "Thanks babe, you're right. As usual..."

She grinned and he waved her off in the taxi before heading inside.

He dropped his keys in the bowl near the door and decided the best way for him to sleep was going to involve tracking down his lover and tiring out his body as well as his mind.

"Steve? You home, babe?" he called out and turned the corner into the kitchen area, "The team ganged up on me an- who the _hell_ are you?"

The detective found himself staring at a young boy who couldn't have been more than fourteen, sitting at the kitchen table with a stack of waffles in front of him and a frightened expression on his face. Even more confusing, he was wearing what appeared to be a pair of Steve's board shorts and one of Danny's old Jersey pizzeria t-shirts which was very loose on his skinny frame.

When his question was met with stunned silence, he raised his eyebrows and gestured widely. "Anytime you wanna explain what you're doing here, that's fine..." he pressed.

The kid's eyes were drawn to his moving hands, and then they locked onto the badge and gun at his belt. He shot up from the table, dropping his fork and backing away.

"He said he wasn't going to call the police..." he whispered, clearly terrified, "He said he wouldn't!"

Danny frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Steve entered the room from the direction of the bathroom, and before he could fully take in the scene the boy was shouting at him with a trembling voice.

"You told me I'd be _safe_! You said you wouldn't hand me in!" He pointed at Danny, who was now crossing his arms over his chest and giving Steve that look that demanded an explanation, and fast. "You called the cops!"

Steve put his hands out. "No no, Nahele, you've got it wrong! That's Danny, he's my fiancé..."

But the teen wasn't listening, and when Danny moved forward he saw the doorway was clear for escape and bolted.

"Nahele, wait!" Steve cried out, but it was Danny's hand clamping down on the boy's arm as he ran past which stopped him in his tracks.

Nahele tried to pull away and pried at Danny's fingers, but the blonde held on to him, fed up and determined to find out what on earth was happening in his own home. He was tired and confused, and tension was bubbling up inside his chest.

"What the fuck is- ARGH!" Danny howled and let go of Nahele's wrist when the kid's teeth sank into his forearm. "You little fucker!"

He tried to run again, but Steve came up behind him and quickly wrapped a strong arm around his chest, trapping his arms, and placed a calming hand over Nahele's forehead.

"He's okay, kid, he's not gonna arrest you. Come on, calm down now," he said soothingly, and the teen finally gave in again when he realised Steve was too strong to fight successfully.

The mechanic let him go when Nahele got his breathing back under control, his own pulse jumping in his neck at the surprise freak out. He hadn't explained about Danny yet, not expecting his lover to be home until after five, so he couldn't blame the kid for his reaction.

Nahele was still twitching, wide brown eyes flicking between Danny and the door, but the cop was now over at the sink and holding his arm under the cold running tap, muttering to himself.

Danny massaged the wound where the skin had been broken and hissed. He looked up to the boy, ready to fling some very choice words his way, but took in the fear and confusion in his face. He didn't know what the hell was going on here, but he knew kids, and this one was nervous and squirrely and didn't need anything else scaring him.

Danny reeled in his temper and let out a sigh, turning the tap off now the blood had stopped.

"You have really fucking sharp teeth, you know that?" he grumbled, leaning back against the counter and dabbing the water off his skin with kitchen paper.

Nahele just stared at him, unsure, and then looked to Steve who was moving across the kitchen and digging out the first aid kit from the cupboard.

The ex-con was glad to see Danny was keeping his cool, even though he could sense the anger underneath the blonde's skin like an electric current. The Jersey man already had so much going on, and now to have this scenario thrown at him the moment he'd come in the door was unfair, but Steve felt like he'd had no other choice other from bringing Nahele home.

"He's just scared, Danno. I'm sorry. Here, give me your arm," he reached out and carefully supported his lover's forearm so that he check the injury and clean the small puncture wounds while Danny huffed at the discomfort.

"I got _that_... look, would anyone mind actually just telling me what the hell is going on here?" He glared at Steve while he stuck a dressing over the damaged skin, wearily acknowledging it was going to tear the hairs out when he eventually ripped it off.

"This is Nahele," the brunette gestured to the teen, who again looked like he might go for the exit, bouncing on his feet.

Danny realised he was probably about to get a story that the kid didn't want police involved in, so he reached down with his free arm and unclipped his Five-0 badge. He held it up in front of him so the boy could see, and then flung it to the side to land on the counter top. Nahele creased his brow, but stilled and visibly relaxed, taking the gesture for what it was. I may be a cop, but I'm currently off duty.

"Continue..." Danny instructed to his lover, and then waved to the teenager who was still hovering over by the door, "And you, eat. You look like you need it."

Nahele shuffled back to the table, but sat so he could keep an eye on the two men and didn't touch his food.

Steve tended to Danny's arm and threw a small smile towards the boy. He'd spent the whole morning with him, offering him food from the break room at work and getting him to trust the older man by just talking to him. He'd told him about how he used to be in prison, not really going into the grit of his crimes, and about how he now owned the garage. He'd also talked to him about his childhood, imparting the story of how he lost his parents.

He never used to be this honest with anyone, keeping his past strictly under lock and key except with a select few he trusted, namely Danny, Kono, Chin and Meka, but he had figured the more he shared, the more Nahele would open up, and it had worked.

The kid had repaid him with some of his own story; his mom was dead, his dad was in prison, and he was for all intents and purposes homeless. He had intended to steal some car parts to sell and earn cash to get out of his current situation. He was still cagey about certain details, but he'd gotten used to Steve's presence enough to accept the invitation back to the house he shared with his fiancé, especially when Steve offered up use of his shower and some more food.

It could have been a dangerous situation, but Nahele was obviously desperate, and that just made Steve want to protect him even more. Who knew what might happen to him if he was left out on his own, what unscrupulous people might take advantage of his naivety and lack of protection.

The mechanic had handed off his keys to his assistant manager at the garage so he wouldn't have to close, and left early.

He hoped Nahele would learn to trust Danny just as quickly, not that the kid even fully trusted Steve yet. He was already beginning to tuck into the food again, albeit with a wary expression on his face.

"I got to work to find him pilfering an engine part out of the Marquis," Steve explained, and chuckled at Danny's snort, "Yeah, had to go for _that_ car, didn't you kid?"

"S'a classic," Nahele mumbled around a mouthful of waffle.

"See?" Steve grinned at his lover, who narrowed his eyes.

"You told him to say that," he said accusingly, "But this doesn't explain why he's in our kitchen eating waffles which, by the way, I would like some of."

Steve rolled his eyes and set about getting a portion of the sweet treat for his fiancé. He needed to ply Danny with sugar right now anyway, because he was about to ask a lot of him. He noticed Nahele's mouth twitch upwards at the corners, finding their interaction entertaining, and it warmed his heart a little to see the boy relax again.

"He's kinda... between accommodation right now..."

He handed the dish to Danny, who took it and stared at him, realising what he was hinting at.

The blonde looked at the boy again, assessing him. He had spotted the pile of dirty clothing on the floor in front of the washer, and judging by the state of the ripped fabric they probably weren't even worth saving. You'd have to be blind not to see he was in need, and Nahele looked about as tired as Danny felt; whether he was sleeping rough, or in a home or hostel, he obviously didn't feel safe enough to get a proper night's sleep. The cop's heart twisted, thinking about Grace and how, if she were in this kid's position, he'd want someone to look after her.

He took a bite out of his food while he thought, and had already made his decision by the time he swallowed the first mouthful, but Nahele spoke up suddenly.

"I'll go," he whispered, clearing his throat so he could speak up, "I appreciate the food and everything, Steve, and Danny, I'm really sorry that I..." he gestured to the blonde's arm and went a bit red, embarrassed at his behaviour, "But I can't ask anything else of you..."

He got up to leave, picking up his clothing from the floor.

Danny placed his plate on the counter. "Put that back down and eat your food," he said gently, already planning on trashing the garments the first chance he got. He walked past the table and nudged Nahele back towards it as he passed him.

"Danno, where you going?" Steve asked behind him.

"Where do you think I'm going, Steven? I'm gonna go make up the spare bed..."

An hour later, Danny was standing in the kitchen doorway and quietly watching Nahele get to grips with their DVD player. The kid was homeless, may never have had one of his own, and still he mastered it quicker than the detective ever had. Damn kids and their natural ability to work technology.

His own exhaustion was beginning to creep up on him again. The brief distraction of getting the boy settled and the spare room sorted was over now, and the ache in his soul was beginning to return inch by inch.

Steve came up behind him and slid his arms around the shorter man's waist.

"You're amazing, you know that, Danno?" He kissed the side of his head and hugged him to his chest.

"Couldn't agree more," Danny smiled, pushing his head against Steve's cheek and covering the brunette's hands with his own. "But then, so are you..."

"Huh?" Steve sounded surprised, and Danny could kick him for not even realising the wonderful thing he was doing.

He took hold of one of Steve's hands and pulled him around into the kitchen, speaking in a low voice for privacy.

"Babe, you've just taken a kid off the street and fed him, washed him, given him a bed for the night-"

Steve interrupted him, still thinking Danny was annoyed. "It won't be for too long, I'll try to find him a decent place to stay, maybe if you could talk to someone at HPD about decent support for him..."

The detective waved him off. "I don't care about that, Steve, he can stay as long as he needs to. What I'm saying is, you did the right thing." He smiled at his fiancé softly.

"You're not mad I didn't report him to the police?" Steve bit his lip guiltily. He had honestly believed Danny would be pissed with him over that more than anything.

"No," Danny sighed, "I know I'm a cop babe, but I'm also a human being. I agree with what you did, and I also understand why."

The ex-con gazed at him for a moment, brow creasing. "What do you mean?"

Danny shook his head and chuckled. "That kid in there?" he waved a hand at the doorway to the living room, where the sounds of some action film were drifting through to them, "He's _you_ , Steve. I'm not an idiot, neither are you. He's you at that age, and you're doing for him what should have been done for you."

The brunette couldn't believe how well this man understood him sometimes, and a lump formed in his throat.

Danny was suddenly pulled in to a tight hug, and squeezed until all the air was forced from his lungs. He had to pat Steve on the back a couple of times to get the man to let him go so he could take a breath.

"Jeez..." he laughed.

"I love you, Danny," Steve dipped down to kiss him gently, cupping the side of his face so softly it made him sigh and his knees go a little weak.

"I love you too, Steve," he reached up to squeeze his lover's hand when the kiss broke. "Listen, I know it's only five but I'm going to bed to try and get some sleep in like I was ordered to... _try_ not to get into any more trouble, huh?"

He said the last part loud enough for Nahele to hear as well, as he passed the doorway to the living room. The teen looked over at him and smiled, and seeing that grateful expression made the stress of the afternoon worth every second of raised blood pressure.


	6. Break

_He was trapped. It was dark. His hands were tied behind his back and he was in a tiny, cramped space. The trunk of his own god damned car. How could he have let this happen? How could he have been so stupid? Now Steve would be in danger with Danny unable to back him up, and it was all his fault._

 _His body ached all over from the beating he'd received at the hands of Wo Fat's men, his right lung crackling a little when he breathed in, and he tried desperately to focus on that pain rather than on the restrictive metal coffin he was in._

 _He could feel the panic rising in his gut, his bruised chest feeling tighter and breathing more hampered than just his injuries would cause._

 _Fuck, he was going to die. They were going to kill him and he was never going to see Steve again. They might kill Steve, his team, and he wouldn't be there to stop it._

 _He strained against his bonds and tried to slow his pulse with deep breaths, but his ribs protested and it only made it that bit worse._

 _The shadows closed in on him, suffocated him with their inky darkness, and he knew in that moment that he was going to die._

Danny gasped awake, pulse jumping in his neck and chest, sweat damp on his skin and blood pumping in his ears.

He had to take several moments to centre himself and realise he wasn't in the Camaro's trunk, but was in fact at home, in bed, safe. And Steve – beautiful, heavenly Steve – was there sleeping by his side.

Luckily he hadn't woken the mechanic, and Danny was glad for that because the last thing he wanted was for his insomnia and nightmares to affect his lover. He slipped out from under the covers and grabbed his robe from the back of the bedroom door before making his way through to the kitchen. He rubbed at his face and leaned his elbows on the counter top until he calmed himself enough to think straight.

The dreams about being locked in his trunk had been getting worse, and he hated that they kept coming back to haunt him. The claustrophobic episode seemed to have done more emotional damage to him than being shot in the head shortly afterwards and nearly dying, and he wondered what that said about his mental state.

He hated his claustrophobia. It was a weakness he despised and just couldn't understand. There was no rhyme or reason to it, no incident that had lead him to fear small spaces that would explain why it was an issue. It just was. And now it was being set off by stress and imagined scenarios, which sucked beyond belief.

He was quiet as a mouse, opening the cupboard for a glass and filling it with water. Steve was asleep in their room, and Nahele was in the guest bedroom, and he couldn't risk waking either of them.

The boy Steve had brought home was jumpy to begin with and was probably getting his first good night's slumber in a long while, and Steve simply didn't deserve to get dragged into the sleepless purgatory his fiancé currently resided in.

Danny had managed to get in a few hours, going to bed at five and finally dropping off to sleep around two hours later, but what rest he'd had was broken and riddled with bad dreams and long periods of staring at the ceiling while he tried to drift off again.

He gulped down the water and gazed groggily at the glass in his hand before giving in and refilling it – this time with whiskey. To hell with it, if he could self medicate into a scotch-induced coma, it was going to be a better option than his current state of being.

He opened the small cupboard next to the television and pulled put the wireless headphones Steve had bought for him the last time he'd suffered from insomnia. It hadn't been anywhere near this bad on that particular occasion, but it was a thoughtful gift from his lover who knew Danny liked to find refuge in late night garbage television, and it was now coming in useful again.

He switched the smart TV on, paired up the headphones to it using the Bluetooth like Steve had shown him, and flicked through the channels until he hit some horrendous infomercials. They always helped him zone out. According to the clock on the wall, it was half past one in the morning, so he resigned himself to a night of waking hell and flopped down on the couch with a huff.

The sip of whiskey was sharp on his throat, and it felt good even as it burned on the way down. He listened to the droning of some shopping channel sales pitch and let his head drop back on the couch.

It didn't help that tonight he was frustrated as hell. All he'd wanted to do was come home, find Steve, and let himself get lost in the heat and passion that was his lover. If he'd just been able to feel that hand on his throat, have bruises dug into his skin, been laid out bare to be reminded he belonged to someone who wanted every inch of him, someone who could take their fill each night and still crave him...

He had so needed that release, but it just didn't feel right with Nahele in the house. Jeez, he didn't want to emotionally scar the kid with the sounds he might hear through the walls, and there was no way Danny could be quiet right now with his insides twisted the way they were... Even he had noticed he'd been a bit louder these past few days; sex with Steve seemed to be the only thing that let him unwind and disconnect.

The commercials on the television began to bleed through into Danny's consciousness as he stared at a cobweb in the corner of the room and sleepily considered getting rid of it somehow. Some sleazy ambulance-chasing solicitor was boasting about his 'low cost rates' and 'high rate of success' when it came to suing the pants off others on his clients' behalf.

"If I don't win your case for you, then my name's not Jack Lawman!"

 _No_ , Danny thought, _it's probably not, actually_. The likelihood that a gimmicky name like 'Jack Lawman' was on that's slime ball's birth certificate was pretty slim.

"Call Lawman Solicitors now, you can trust us!"

The blonde rolled his eyes. God damn lawyers, they were all scumbag gold diggers.

But something caught in the back of his mind; a vague shadow of an idea that clung on to a brain cell for dear life and screamed at him for attention. He lifted his head and looked at the image on the screen, Jack flashing this awful, cheesy grin at the camera and winking before it hopped to the next infomercial. Danny creased his brow and stared at the TV, no longer even registering the images on it or the sounds coming through the headphones as he processed the notion that was now clawing its way to the forefront.

 _You can trust me._

He thought long and hard about Nahele. Steve had told Danny that it had taken all morning to get the boy to come around – a morning of constant conversation and reassurance, of reciprocated sharing and bare, open honesty – even now Nahele was still wary of them both, and rightly so. He was more hesitant with Danny because he was a cop, and the kid had learned to fear cops...

But a girl like Maggie, with parents who trusted in the system and knew she was vulnerable with her medical problems, would have been taught the exact opposite from day one. You can always trust doctors and nurses and cops; they're your friends, they're there to help you.

One of the images he'd stared at a thousand times during this case jumped through his mind's eye, but it was blurred around the edges in his sleep-deprived memory, and he needed to check, to make sure he was remembering it right.

Danny shot up from the couch, about to grab his laptop bag from where he usually left it, and cursed loudly.

It was at work, of course it was. Kono and Meka had made him leave it behind... Fucking typical! He'd only had one sip of the whisky, thank god.

He grabbed his keys from the bowl and his badge from the kitchen counter, flung his headphones onto the couch without even bothering to turn anything off, and headed out the door. It wasn't until he was halfway to the Palace that he realised he was barefoot and wearing only his boxers, a faded t-shirt and his robe, and his hair was sticking up in all directions from being in bed.

But it didn't matter, not right now, not when he had grasped onto an idea and needed to follow it through.

He had spare clothes at HQ. The guys on the security desk would get a very confusing eyeful tonight, and he might never live it down, but fuck that because if he caught a lead tonight then that was all he cared about. He could bear being teased over his nightwear if it meant they caught their perp.

As it turned out, there was only one guy on the front desk when Danny ran through the foyer, waving his badge without stopping. The guard was too stunned to really react, and hopefully he'd just assume it was a strange nightshift dream and his mind was playing tricks, because no cop would be running through Iolani Palace at 2am in his pyjamas, right?

Danny snapped on the lights in the bullpen and skidded to a halt at the tech table, jabbing the power switch. The computer, which always seemed so quick and efficient, took what felt like a year to boot up while the detective tapped the edge impatiently.

As soon as it was ready, he was bringing up the case folders, delving into the CCTV images of the road from the time period when Maggie went missing, and skipping through them.

The footage was taken from an ATM security camera, so the angle was low and the quality wasn't amazing, but he flicked along the frames until he saw the little girl walking past on the opposite side of the road, and then further until a truck and then a car went past.

The team had interviewed every single driver that had appeared on the video, catching their license plates and tracking them down to see if they remembered seeing Maggie, or anyone acting suspiciously, and each one had appeared to be a dead end. But it was the blue Sedan he was interested in, that was the one that had crept into his brain and sat there, screaming for attention.

He brought the frame up full screen and zoomed in, and there it was. Something his subconscious mind had obviously registered and filed away for later reference.

The female driver had her hair up in a bun, and was wearing a dark blue shirt; a very similar colour to that of the Hawaiian police force.

Danny brought up the database which gave them access to local traffic footage, and came to a grinding halt because it was the most complicated system he'd ever seen. Damn it, this was why he left these parts to Kono or Chin; he was useless with the tech.

He ran to his office and took the wireless phone from its base, having left his cell on his bedside table. He jabbed in a phone number from memory and tucked it in between his ear and his shoulder, praying his colleague would forgive him for the early wake up call.

" _Mmf... hello?_ " came the sleepy answer.

"Chin, I'm so sorry buddy," he said quickly, "But I need your help. How the hell do you find stuff in this traffic cam system?"

There was a short pause as the Hawaiian man took a second to process what was going on. "Didn't my cousin send you home with strict instructions-"

"Not to work, yes yes I know," Danny waved his hand at nothing, "But I've got something Chin, I just... _please_ , I need your help!"

"Okay, what are you working with? Did you sneak a laptop home?" Chin sounded more awake now, keying into the desperate energy in his boss's voice.

"No, I'm on the tech table at the Palace," he jabbed a button again, hoping things would magically start working for him.

"Right, I'm gonna talk you through it, but I'm on my way there," the older cop told him, and it sounded like he was moving around and probably getting dressed like Danny should have.

He put the blonde on hands free while he hopped on his motorcycle, and gave him instructions on how to pull up the footage for that area on the right day, how to track backwards to follow a particular vehicle, and by the time Danny had it all on screen Chin was walking through the bullpen doors.

He dropped his phone on the table, apparently decided against commenting on his friend's bedraggled appearance, and looked up at the screens. "What have you got?"

"The driver of the Sedan, Helen Cantera, you interviewed her right?" Danny confirmed.

"Yeah, Kono and I went together," he nodded, "She said she didn't remember seeing Maggie, not particularly useful. No record. Why?"

"There was something about what she was wearing..." Danny got the video in the right place and thumped the edge of the table victoriously. His hunch had paid off in spades.

The woman had stopped at the front of a queue at a red light, and it was an intersection close to the likely abduction site, ten minutes before the victim disappeared.

The camera was up high and had a perfect view of her face and, most importantly, her clothing.

"Holy fuck," Chin murmured.

"She's wearing an HPD uniform," Danny enlarged the image, zooming in to see the badge on the right side of her dark shirt.

"There was no record of her being an officer," the Hawaiian man shook his head, pulling up her stored information on the table, "She works... Fuck, she works at the Australian consulate..."

"There's our link," Danny felt lightheaded with relief and head to steady himself against the table, "Call Kono, I'll call Meka. We need to track this bitch down..."

Danny's alarm was beeping on his bedside table, dragging Steve from the pleasant dream he'd been having.

"Danno, turn that fucking thing off..." he grouched and pulled a pillow over his head.

When it continued to cut through the goose down, he growled and rolled over to find the other side of the bed empty again.

"For fuck sake..." Steve smacked the phone into submission and staggered out of bed, rubbing his eyes.

He went to find his fiancé, who couldn't be working because his friends had sensibly divested him of his laptop, and he guessed he'd be on the couch watching ridiculous early morning TV. He passed both bathrooms with no sign of the Jersey man.

Instead he found the television on, predictably on the shopping channel, a virtually untouched glass of scotch on the coffee table, but no Danny. His headphones sat on the cushions, playing sales pitches to no one in particular, and Steve grabbed them up and turned everything off, puzzled by his lover's absence.

He looked around the living room and kitchen as if Danny might be hiding somewhere, and even went to check Grace's room, the garage and the garden.

On his way back to the bedroom, Nahele emerged from the spare room in the sweatpants and shirt they'd provided him with.

"Mornin'," the boy scrubbed at his face.

"Hey, I don't suppose you've seen Danny this morning?" Steve tried.

Nahele shook his head. "Naw, only just woken up. Your spare bed is comfy as fuck, man..."

Steve sighed and looked through his open bedroom door at his fiancé's phone on the nightstand. Where the hell had Danny gone?

"Okay," he said absently, snatching up the clothes he'd put to one side last night that looked like they would fit his new ward, "Well get yourself dressed, you're coming to the garage with me. And don't swear, young man."

He handed the outfit to the surprised teen and wandered back into the living room, looking around for clues. Danny's badge wasn't on the counter where he'd thrown it the night before, and his keys were missing from the bowl.

Wherever he'd gone, it had been in a hurry.

They ate a quick breakfast while Steve texted Kono to see if he could track down his errant lover.

\- _Hey hun, seen Danno?_

He wouldn't normally worry quite so much, but with no way of contacting Danny and knowing his recent deteriorating state of mind, Steve didn't think it was an overreaction to be concerned. He was aware his fiancé hadn't slept well last night, the fact that he'd drowned his sorrows in whiskey and infomercials attested to that, and Steve knew the lack of sex probably hadn't helped matters. It had been Danny's pressure release value, a way for him to escape, and he hadn't had the benefit it provided due to Nahele being around.

Steve couldn't be sure how much Danny had drunk, and wondered why he hadn't said goodbye. He picked up the detective's phone to take with him to work.

When they'd left the house, he'd still received no reply, and an anxious feeling sat in the pit of his stomach like a lead weight. Danny had been hurt before, it could happen again... and he'd never seen his lover this way. So this was how Rachel used to feel...

He spent the next hour making Nahele put the engine part he'd tried to steal back in the Marquis, and while the boy worked he observed his skills. He seemed to know what he was doing, and had a talent for handling the machinery.

While Steve tugged his cell out of his pocket to send yet another message to Meka, he leaned against the hood and spoke to the teen.

"How long have you liked cars?"

Nahele looked up, grease smeared on his face, and shrugged. "I dunno, I guess I always have. My dad had a nice car, a Dodge Viper. He wasn't really into the mechanical stuff. He didn't like it so much when I messed with the car, but I always wanted to know what made it tick, ya know?"

Steve nodded, finishing the message. "Yeah, I used to work on this car with my dad before he died. I was upset to see it get sold off... Danny got hold of her for me a few days ago, so I get to continue where we left off..." He cocked his head to one side, and made a decision on something he'd been considering all night. "Do you uh... Do you wanna help me with that?"

Nahele straightened up suddenly and almost banged his head on the raised lid of the hood. "Really? Are you kidding me?" His eyes and voice were full of excitement. "You'd let me? But it was your dad's!"

Steve smiled. "Well if I'm honest, it's kind of a two-man job, and I can't see Danno working on it with me... he's more of an 'if it won't work, buy a new one' type of guy."

It was true, and Danny wouldn't mind him saying it. He had freely admitted on several occasions that he thought tinkering around with 'old junk' was pointless, although when Steve had mentioned that his beloved Camaro would be considered 'old junk' one day, the blonde had quickly retorted by flipping him the bird.

"That would be... that would be amazing, Steve. I'd love it." The boy looked so happy, but a cloud passed over his face and he looked down at the engine and bit his lip.

The ex-con knew exactly why; the kid wasn't sure what his future held right now, and offers of working on a classic car with some guy were great, but provided no stability. But this was what Steve did; he took on ex-convicts to help them get back on their feet with a decent paying job, give them a skill and a grounding in work outside the prison walls so they could rebuild their confidence and their CVs. All he was doing here was skipping a step, and not waiting for the boy to end up getting into trouble on the path he was heading down.

"I was looking at taking on an apprentice, Nahele," Steve crossed his arms over his chest, "Someone who is good with cars and is keen to learn. You know someone who fits that description?"

Nahele's wide eyes met his, and he gripped the edge of the Marquis and bounced on his toes. "Do you... Do you mean that?"

"Well you're gonna be staying with us for at least another night or two until we find you an alternative. May as well make use of you," Steve chuckled.

The boy threw himself at the mechanic, taking the older man by surprise, and wrapped his arms around his neck to hug him. Steve hesitantly put his arms around Nahele and gave him a quick squeeze.

The kid backed off and looked a little embarrassed. "Uh, sorry..."

Steve laughed. "It's no problem, but I _am_ gonna make you work hard. This isn't a free ride, you get me?"

Nahele nodded furiously. "Yessir, I get you."

He watched as Steve once again pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked his complete lack of messages.

"You're worried about him, huh?"

The brunette sighed. "Danny has a dangerous job. He can look after himself but... he's not been in a good place with this case..."

It felt good to share with Nahele. He was a kindred soul.

"Danny seems pretty tough. And you love each other, I can see that," the boy grinned, "The way you are together, I mean... it's cool how you just bounce off one another, like you banter and you laugh and that's really nice. My mom and dad used to be like that."

Steve allowed himself a soft smile. "Yeah... I know he was a bit grumpy yesterday, but you should see his smile, y'know? It's like... I dunno, it's hard to explain, but when he's happy it's like sunshine is nothing in comparison..." He shook his head, self-conscious at his soppy words.

Nahele chuckled at the blush which crept across the older man's cheeks. "How did you two meet? I mean, you're a con and he's a cop. What's with that?"

" _Was_ a con," Steve corrected him, "And _that_ , my friend, is a long story..." And there was no way his young ears were hearing all of it.

Danny stared at the mess they'd made of Cantera's front door and stomped back down the wooden steps.

He had changed into his spare work clothes – slacks, a grey button-down shirt and loafers, although he didn't have a spare tie available so he'd gone open collar – while waiting for the rest of the team to show up in the early hours, and after coordinating with HPD they had organised a morning raid on Helen Cantera's home hoping to find evidence. They had kicked down the door and rushed the place, but the woman was nowhere to be seen, and Danny was beginning to feel the heavy weight of sleep deprivation creep up on him again.

"Is it just me, or are we always five minutes too late?" he growled and rubbed his eyes.

Kono and Chin gave him a sympathetic look. Meka was nearby on his cell, pacing the front yard. They all looked so tired and downtrodden, and Danny couldn't help but feel responsible for that. They were his team, and he knew he'd pushed them and asked a lot of them, especially with 2am wake up calls and putting up with his moods in the office.

"I'm sorry, guys," he sighed.

"We did our best, boss. We'll get her," the sniper reached out and squeezed his arm.

"HPD have put an alert out on the airports and docks with her description, if she's trying to run then she won't get far, but she doesn't know we're onto her yet," Chin attempted to reassure his leader, but Danny wasn't in the positive kind of mood right now.

He was sinking back into the doom and gloom frame of mind he usually wallowed in, the one that told him everything was going to hell and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Suddenly Meka arrived at his side, waving his phone.

"That was Duke, he says that alert we put out paid off! The one to feed us any info about missing kids, even before they're officially classed as missing?"

"What? What's happened?" Danny pressed him, feeling the adrenaline kick up his heart beat.

"He said a girl has been reported by her mother as wondering off on their way to school less than an hour ago. They stopped in a convenience store and the mom turned around, and the girl was gone. Danny, she's nine years old, and apparently very similar to Maggie's description."

Danny cursed. "That's why Cantera isn't here, she's picking up a god damn replacement!" He pointed at his partner. "Put out a MAILE AMBER alert with her details; inform any harbours, ports, docks, airports, god damn flying schools, everywhere. They're _not_ leaving this island!"

"On it, bud," Meka nodded and went to make the calls, glancing at the phone screen, "Oh, and you might want to call your fiancé because I have two texts from him..."

Danny bit his lip as he watched his friend walk off to call HPD. Shit, he'd forgotten to pick up his cell earlier when he left, and in all the hustle this morning he hadn't thought to let Steve know he was okay.

The other two cops pulled their own phones out.

"Um... I've got a text too, bruh," Chin flashed his phone screen at Danny where one of Steve's messages showed.

- _Have you seen Danno? I'm worried._

They had all been busy that morning with the raid, and no one had checked their phones until now.

"Two texts _and_ a missed call..." Kono passed her cell to Danny, "Put him out of his misery, yeah?"

He hit the call button and stepped away so he could talk in private. Steve would have been up for a few hours now and Danny felt like an idiot for being so involved in this case that he hadn't considered his lover.

Steve's worried voice came on the line after two rings, the sound of the garage in the background. " _Kono? Are you guys okay? Where's Danny?_ "

"Babe it's me, I'm fine. I'm so sorry-"

" _Danny? For fuck sake, you had me so worried!_ " The metal clanging and engine noise faded, and Danny guessed his fiancé had gone outside to avoid anyone overhearing him. " _What happened this morning? Where'd you go?_ "

The cop scratched at his two-day stubble. "I'm so sorry, babe. We got a break in the case and I had to get to the office, I didn't want to wake you... I should have left a note or something, I wasn't thinking."

" _There was whiskey out, you didn't... you didn't drink and drive, did you?_ " Steve had lowered his voice right down, but still managed to sound stern when he was practically whispering.

"No!" Danny snapped, and then brought his own volume down when the cousins looked up at him from across the yard, "No, I most certainly did _not_ , Steven, thank you. I wouldn't."

" _I know, I know, I'm sorry,_ " the other man let out a deep sigh and Danny felt a stab of guilt in his stomach. He'd put Steve through a lot that morning, over the past few days in fact, and it was so unfair on his lover. God, this is what he'd done to Rachel. He just kept hurting people.

"No, I'm sorry Steve, it's my fault. Listen, I'm gonna make it up to you, I promise. When this is all over-"

" _I understand, Danno,_ " Steve's firm voice held so much sincerity, it made Danny's heart ache. " _I get it, I mean it. I know how important this case is to you._ "

" _You_ are always my number one priority, Steve. You and Grace, you know that, right?" He had to make Steve understand that, it was so important. "I've let this take over, but it's only temporary, and I'm sorry about this morning, it's not right... god, I'm so sorry, I love you."

He faced away from all the cops swarming the perp's front yard so they couldn't see him wiping the tears of frustration out of his eyes with his free hand.

" _Danny, I love you too. And you know what? I love that your throw your heart and soul into your work, it's who you are and I wouldn't ask for anything different_."

"I didn't think it was possible to love you anymore than I already did, Steven. And then you go and fucking prove me wrong..." Danny sniffed and he heard his lover chuckle on the other end of the phone.

" _That's why I'm here, Danno,_ " he murmured, " _To constantly prove you wrong._ "

"Danny!" The blonde looked up to see Meka and Chin waving at him, and he took off in a run towards them.

"I'm sorry babe, I've got to go. I _will_ make this up to you, I swear it. I love you." He tossed Meka his keys and jumped into the passenger side of the Camaro.

" _Be safe, Danno. I'll hold you to that. Love you too._ "

Danny hung up and looked over at his partner.

"What's going on?"

"A woman matching Cantera's description has been seen at the Honolulu marina with a young girl, that's where we're headed," Meka was already tearing out onto the freeway at speed, "Everything okay with you and lover boy?" he teased.

Danny just grinned. "Mek, I am marrying probably the most perfect man in the world. Everything is perfect... Now let's go take this bitch down!"

Steve stood next to the road bike Nahele was tinkering with and watched him with interest. Now he'd spoken with Danny and knew he was okay, he felt a lot calmer. He'd also meant every word he'd said, because yes this case was affecting Danny profoundly, but it was because he cared so deeply and intensely about people, and that was what made him Danny.

It was one of the things that pulled Steve in; the way the detective wore his heart on his sleeve, just wanted to protect the ones he loved with all his heart, and everyone else along the way. Even people he didn't know. It was why he was a cop, after all.

So Rachel was right in one aspect; Danny was built to be a father and he was built to be a cop. Where she was wrong, in Steve's opinion, was her perception of her ex-husband's priorities. Steve had known it deep down before he'd even heard it come from his lover's lips, but it had made it all the better to listen to the words in that Jersey accent.

 _You are always my number one priority, Steve. You and Grace, you know that, right?_

He had known he was more important than the job, of course. But to be classed alongside Grace, not second like he's assumed, but joint first? That was a little piece of heaven, right there.

After Danny had rung off, he had dedicated the morning to Nahele, instructing the kid in the mechanics of some of the motorcycles they had in and setting him to work right away after lunch. He was a quick learner, and Steve was glad to have him around.

He liked Nahele a lot, wanted to give him the opportunities that Steve hadn't benefitted from. He was a good kid, he could see that, and Danny wouldn't have let him stay if he'd seen anything to the contrary in Nahele.

Steve had never had any sort of fatherly feelings over any kids until he met Gracie, but now he was feeling oddly protective over this young boy and he realised that he was a very different man today than the one Danny had met in Halawa over two years ago.

He had grown, developed, evolved, and so had his lover; but they had done so together, hand in hand, and that made him love the blonde even more than he believed he ever could.

"Do you talk to your sister much?"

The question wasn't totally out of the blue, as the ex-con had discussed family with Nahele and told him about Grace and Danny, and their ohana, but he'd only briefly mentioned his own blood family up until now.

"Mary-Ann? No, not seen her in years… I was thinking about her just the other day actually, that maybe I should give her a call."

"You should," Nahele stood and wiped the grease off his hands, an earnest expression on his young face, "Family's important, I should know… And I know you think the stuff you've done might have made her hate you, but I bet she'd be happy to hear from you."

Steve gave him a considering look. "How old are you again, kid?" he laughed. It was amazing to hear such wise words coming from a young boy like that. He nodded and crossed his arms, hugging himself a little. "You're right though. Problem is, I don't have her number… she changed it after I left the mainland. Maybe Danny could-"

"Wow," Nahele interrupted him, and he glanced up to see the kid gazing past his shoulder with a look of wonderment, "I see what you mean about that smile…"

Steve turned to see what he was staring at, and his eyes landed on Danny, strolling across the lot from his Camaro with Meka not far behind him, grinning from ear to ear. He honestly looked like he'd never been happier in his life. His smile was utterly beautiful, and Steve couldn't believe how much he'd missed it the past few days.

They'd solved the case; that had to be it, because the relief and utter delight radiating off the man was tangible, making him glow. His shoulders were loose, head held high, and he was headed straight for Steve.

"I know why I'm happy, but why are _you_ smirking?" Danny chuckled as he approached, waving at Nehele.

"No tie," Steve replied and pointed to the blonde's open collar which revealed a peak of sandy chest hair, "I like it."

"Don't get used to it," the shorter man arrived in front of him, and Steve slid his arms around Danny's waist to draw him into a kiss.

"How did this afternoon go?" He figured it was safe to ask about the case now, judging by Danny and Meka's cheerful demeanours.

"We got the bitch, hoaloha," Meka bounced on the balls of his feet.

"It's a long story babe, but we've got a big clean up operation now," Danny added, taking a small step back but still remaining in the ex-con's orbit, "We need to track down all the kids this woman has sold on and see if we can reunite them with their families."

The Hawaiian man crossed his arms over his chest and beamed proudly. "We've already done one. This girl who was taken from her parents like nine years ago and passed on to some couple on the island. They were keeping her locked up and taking the child support money for themselves. Makes you sick, bruh."

"Yeah, she was almost eighteen and would have been no use to them then, god knows what would have happened to her... but we found an email from them asking this woman to find 'a replacement' so it couldn't have been good." Danny's shoulders had stiffened a little and he flexed his hands, and Steve noticed the bruising across both sets of knuckles now.

"What's this?" he asked, sliding his fingers into his fiancé's hand.

"The guy wasn't being... particularly helpful, right D?" Meka smirked and cocked his head to one side, looking proudly at his partner.

Danny bit his lip. "Uh, no... He needed some persuading before he would tell us where Amanda was hidden..." He met Steve's eyes and winced. "He was gonna kill her, Steve, I just know it."

"Hey, you don't have to explain anything to me, Danno," the mechanic smiled, "I'd probably have cheered you on from the side lines."

Danny gazed at him for a few moments, letting a slow smile creep onto his lips, just basking in the way Steve understood him so well. He'd been through so much in his life, had been so hard and cut off when they'd first met for so many completely valid reasons, and yet this beautiful, caring, sexy man knew him like he was a part of his soul.

The fact that he had supported Danny through each minute of this case, allowed him to find solace in their own special kind of intimacy, just give and not mind the take. He was a gift, whether he knew it or not. And he was going to be his husband.

He remembered they had an audience, and he was probably looking like a lovestruck idiot right now, so he looked away and cleared his throat.

"What have you been subjecting this poor boy to today?" he teased, offering Nahele a smile.

"Oh, are we talking about my new _apprentice_?" Steve grinned.

"Oh, _wow_ ," Danny winked at the teen, "Look at _you_ now with a job and everything, you'll be owning this place within the year!"

Nahele's cheeks flushed pink from the praise, and he shuffled his feet while he stared at them. "Yeah, it's exciting," he mumbled.

Steve laughed. "We'll see about _that_. I've been showing him the bikes."

"And he's been telling me about how you guys met," the boy added, looking back up at the blonde.

Meka choked on air behind Danny, and the Jersey man smacked him hard on the arm without even looking.

"Oh yeah?" He side-eyed his lover. Please god, let it have been the PG-rated version because he couldn't cope with a traumatised teenager right now.

"Yes, about how we were cell mates and we hated each other, but then we became friends when you defended me, and then you helped me get out early once you were proved innocent. The rest is history." Steve raised his eyebrows and gave Danny a look as if to say 'What, you really think I'd tell him about _that_? Are you kidding me?'

Danny shook his head. "Yeah, well someone had to take this big goof on, he can't look after himself for toffee," he snickered, and then looked up at Steve with an apologetic smile, "Oh, which by the way, you _are_ gonna have to do... we need to head over to Australia for a few days to try and track some of these kids... tonight. I gotta go pack."

Steve sagged. "Really?" He sounded like a whiny kid, he knew it, but he'd just got the real Danny back and now he was going away. He had pulled Danny's cell phone from his pocket and now he handed it to him, knowing he'd need it for when he flew out.

"Just a couple of days, babe," Danny slid the phone into his pocket while his free hand crept onto Steve's back and fisted into his t-shirt, "But I just need to get something from upstairs first?"

Steve's brow creased, wondering what on earth Danny needed from his office, and then he felt the hint of a tug on his clothing. "Oh... Oh! Yes, that! I'll help you..."

He grasped the cop's wrist and lead him away a little too quickly.

"Jesus Christ..." Meka rolled his eyes at their lack of subtlety, "I'll just wait here, huh partner?" he called after them, a sly smile tugging at his mouth.

"Uh, Meka, Nahele. Nahele, Meka," Danny waved his hand at them in a vague attempt at an introduction, but he was already disappearing through the doors.

His partner was a grown man, he could handle himself.

He had to try not to stumble as he was yanked up the steps at speed, and before he knew it he was through Steve's office door and it was locked behind them. Then he was crushed against the desk which they had abused only the other day, and Steve's soft lips were on his.

"I missed you so much," the brunette murmured against his lips, nipping and kissing along his jaw as his fingers tackled the buttons of his shirt.

Danny was already wrestling with his lover's cargo pants flies. "I haven't gone anywhere yet," he laughed.

Steve straightened back up to kiss him again. "You kinda did though, Danny," he said softly.

The Jersey man paused. "I... I'm sorry, Steve. I didn't mean to-"

"No, no. I meant what I said, Danno," Steve reaffirmed with another kiss, "I understand, I really do. This was so important... but as long as you always come back to me, I will _always_ be waiting."

Danny swallowed past the lump in his throat. "You know I will," he whispered.

"I know you will," the mechanic smiled softly, and the little crinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes that made Danny's heart explode every time.

He grabbed Steve's hair and mashed their lips together, and the ex-con pushed his tongue into Danny's mouth and owned the kiss.

Danny whimpered into his mouth when his shirt was pulled from his shoulders, and Steve was quickly stripping his own shirt over his head before they tore at one another's pants and kicked their shoes and socks off along with the clothing.

They were just in their boxers by the time they slowed the frenzy back down, panting against one another's cheeks while kneading flesh under their fingers.

Steve bit at his fiancé's throat and worked his way slowly down along his collarbone, tracing his favourite scar. He grabbed Danny's wrists and held his hands against the desk so he could grip the edge.

" _Don't_ move them," he commanded, squeezing to enforce his words and dropping to his knees.

Danny nodded and gulped hard. "Yes _sir_ ," he breathed.

Steve's sharp hazel eyes flicked up to meet his gaze. "Oh, I _like_ that..." he purred.

Before Danny could reply, Steve's hot mouth was on his cock through the cotton of his underwear, and all words immediately became lost to him. He groaned and closed his eyes, so grateful to just be back under his lover's hands.

The brunette let go of him and hooked all of his fingers into the waistband of Danny's boxers, but he didn't bother pulling them down. The detective jolted at the sound of ripping fabric, and the sight of his man literally rendering the clothing from his body almost made him come then and there.

"Holy shit, Ste- oh _god_!"

Steve took his lover's hard cock into his mouth, sucking and licking and taking him back into his throat with practiced speed and efficiency. He let the boxers drop to hang useless around one muscled thigh, and skated his fingers up the backs of Danny's legs to cup his ass cheeks and grip hard.

Danny's knuckles were white where he was clutching at the furniture, trying desperately to follow the orders he'd been given and not reach out for his lover. He gasped in oxygen and leaned his head back, closing his eyes again while Steve made him moan with his talented tongue.

Steve hummed around Danny's cock, revelling in the silky smooth skin against his lips and torturing him with slow, precise bobs of his head. He tasted like heaven, and the mechanic knew he was addicted to that flavour. Danny was his fix, his weakness, and the sounds he made had him coming back for more every time.

He took his fiancé right to the edge, until he was desperately trying to behave himself and not jerk his hips forward. His breath was coming in little gasps and whimpers, and the pained groan he released when Steve pulled off him and stood up made the ex-con grin wolfishly.

"Fuck, Steve!" The blonde growled, his restraint collapsing with the sudden denied orgasm. He let go of the desk and grabbed Steve's hips to bring their bodies together and grind against his erection, needing something, anything, to take him over the edge.

His wrists were seized, he was spun around and forced against the desk, yelping when the wooden edge bruised his thighs.

"I told you to keep your hands where they were," Steve hissed in his ear and ground his own erection against his lover's ass through his own boxers.

"Steve, please..." Danny pushed back against him and shouted out when teeth sank into his shoulder. His cock twitched, but even that still wasn't enough to finish him. "God, _please_!"

"I love it when you beg," the taller man whispered against the back of his neck, and goosebumps spilled across his skin.

Danny made a needy, pathetic noise and stopped straining against the brunette, realising he was getting nowhere fast.

Steve nipped a line across his back, waiting a moment longer before lessening his grip on one wrist and letting the other go completely so he could shirk his own underwear. "Good boy. Now get me the lube, you know where it is..."

The detective groaned and leaned down over the desk, pulling the draw open and stretching for the bottle. The second he handed it to Steve he was pushed down onto the wooden surface, and he just had time to move some pens out from under his chest before both of his hands were brought around to the small of his back.

"You said you were going to make things up to me earlier, baby," Steve said in a low, gruff tone, "Well this is how it's gonna happen. I'm gonna fuck you hard, and you'll take it like a good boy... and you're not gonna come until I say you can. You hear me?"

Danny pressed his forehead into the desk and whined. He loved the way Steve controlled him, but he needed to come so badly and he didn't know if he'd be able to hold back.

Steve placed the lube on the desk and brought his free hand down on his lover's ass cheek sharply, enjoying the squeak it elicited.

"Answer me!"

"God, yes! Yes, Steve," Danny moaned wantonly, "Yes..."

Steve let go of his prize for a moment so he could squeeze lube onto his hand and coat his dick in the slippery liquid, and this time Danny behaved himself and kept his arms in place.

He was rewarded by his fiancé taking his wrists again, gently sliding one finger inside him and immediately massaging his prostate once he was deep enough. Danny gritted his teeth and moaned into the desk, wondering how on earth he was going to resist his body's most natural reactions.

Steve took the pressure off by pulling back a little and slowly working him open, adding another finger and getting him ready. Danny could feel his body relaxing, his building orgasm receding a little and leaving an aching, unfulfilled void in its wake.

His lover kissed down his spine; light, delicate presses of his lips that contrasted so intensely with the harsh grip on his wrists and the way he was crushed into the office furniture.

Steve backed off enough so that he could press the tip of his throbbing cock to his lover's hole. He was as desperate for this as Danny and, although he wasn't quite as vocal about it, he knew the cop was well aware of that fact. Despite the roles they took on with one another, they were one and the same; just as needy as the other and just as in love.

He pushed into him slowly, grunting as the head of his dick slipped past the tight ring and into Danny's slick, velvet heat.

"Fuck... you feel so good, baby," he whispered, letting the hand that wasn't holding on to Danny's wrists wander over his trembling muscles as the man fought against the pleasure.

He had withheld orgasms from Danny only a couple of times before, and each time had been a punishment for his man misbehaving in the bedroom. But the punishments Steve doled out were their own kind of rewards, and Danny loved every second of it. There would be no real fun in it otherwise, not for the brunette. His lover wasn't there to be used and abused just for his own benefit, but for both of their enjoyment.

He buried himself deep inside his fiancé, taking a long breath before withdrawing almost all the way and beginning a steady, hard rhythm that built gradually. Soon he was hammering into Danny with a punishing force, and the blonde was letting out a broken moan with each thrust.

Danny knew he was going to have lines of bruising across his thighs and hips tomorrow, and he couldn't wait to trace them with his fingers and remember this moment again.

Steve reached down to curl his fingers around Danny's throat, pulling him upright so his back was flush to Steve's chest. He brought the blonde's head right back and scraped his teeth up Danny's pulse line to his ear, where he sucked the lobe into his mouth.

Electricity zipped down Danny spine and added to the increasing tension in his belly, his orgasm building once more with the new position. Steve was hitting his prostate with every drive, and he whined out loud.

"Fuck... _Steve_..."

There was no way he could hold on for much longer, not like this.

Danny's voice was raw and breathy, and Steve would always be weak for his name said in _that_ way.

He nibbled on his fiancé's earlobe, his hot breath skating over his cheek, and pushed in deep and slow while whispering in his ear.

"Come for me."

Danny's orgasm took his body like wildfire raging through a forest, and he arched his back and bucked against Steve, shouting wordlessly as he came hard. He lost focus on the world and practically collapsed in his lover's arms as fireworks went off in his brain.

Spurts of pearly cum landed on Steve's desk, and seeing Danny come so intensely combined with the feeling of him clenching around his cock in waves brought the mechanic over the edge of his own climax.

He had to lean Danny into the desk to keep them standing, his own release depleting his strength, and he let go of his wrists to grab the desk edge.

"Oh fuck," he gasped, breathing hard into Danny's sweat-slick back and moving his grip from the detective's throat to his chest, hugging him close.

Danny put his own hands on the desk and tried to relearn how to breathe, endorphins swimming through his veins and loosening his muscles.

"Holy shit," he gasped eventually when Steve pulled out of him and staggered backward, "That was... Fuck..."

He turned and leaned back against the desk, and Steve stepped into him again and kissed him passionately. They had to break apart sooner than they'd have liked, both still desperate for oxygen.

"God Danny, I love you so much," Steve planted little short kisses on his lips, and the cop grinned against him, "I mean it, I love you and I can't wait to marry you..."

Danny gave him the smile that weakened him at the knees and gazed into his eyes. "Babe, the day I call you my husband will be the happiest day of my life... Especially if we get to do _that_ again afterwards," he chuckled.

Steve laughed and bent to pick up his clothes. "Come on, you've got to go pack for your mission," he said reluctantly.

"Yeah, I need to go say goodbye to Grace, too. Damn it, we were gonna go with her to get the rings this weekend..." Danny remembered.

Steve's suggestion that Grace choose their wedding rings had warmed his heart to the core, and they had decided to forgo engagement rings so that slipping them on to one another's fingers on the day would feel that bit more special.

"Hey, it can wait. She'll understand," Steve passed him his clothes while he kicked the ruined underwear off himself.

"Oh great, now I gotta go commando while I sit in the car with my partner... _that's_ not weird," he groused.

They dressed and shared another kiss, more delicate this time.

"Let's go save Nahele from Meka's horrendous jokes," the blonde grinned.

"I think that boy's got a little crush on you, Danno," Steve raised an eyebrow at his fiancé. He hadn't missed Nahele's expression earlier when he'd seen that sunshine smile, or his blush when he'd received approval from the cop, and who could blame the kid? Certainly not Steve.

Danny shook his head as he opened the office door. "Well if that's the case, I'll have to let him down gently," he leaned in for another kiss and spoke against Steve's lips, "I'm taken..."


	7. Brothers and Sisters

Steve sat on the sun-warmed bench and popped another scampi into his mouth, listening to Nahele and Grace chat with Kono about surfing.

Danny's daughter was just beginning to take lessons from her sniper 'aunt', and Nahele was already pretty good at the sport having grown up on the island. He was asking to come out with them next time and Kono was getting excited about organising the trip and maybe forcing her boss to come along too.

"Would you come too, Steve?" Nahele asked excitedly, "You can surf, right?"

"Yeah I can, 'Hele," he grinned, "And I wouldn't miss watching Danno fall off his board for the world!"

Grace giggled. "Danno should be _much_ better at surfing by now, Uncle Steve's always taking him out for lessons."

Kono snorted at the blush which crept up Steve's neck. She could probably tell from his reaction that Danny usually managed to distract Steve away from the surfing element of their beach visits half the time. The blonde had a talent for ensuring he didn't end up in the water very much, generally preferring to share the back seat of whatever vehicle they'd arrived in with his supposed surfing instructor fiancé.

Thankfully, the young girl was already turning back to her new friend and asking him questions about how long he'd been surfing, so she didn't notice Steve's reaction and question it.

Grace was already fascinated by Nahele, wanting to know everything he had to say and hanging on his every word. Luckily the boy seemed to know this, and he was using the time with his captive audience to tell Grace all about the various sea creatures that lived in Hawaii. His knowledge on dolphins had her hooked.

True to form, their little ohana had accepted Steve's new self-imposed charge without blinking an eye, and it warmed his heart to see them all laughing together.

He'd managed to get Nahele into some sheltered accommodation quite close to his house with Danny, and the kid had been told he was welcome over any time. They would be only too happy to set him an extra space at the dinner table.

Steve glanced up at his fiancé, who currently had Meka's son Billy on his shoulders while he collected their orders from Kamekona's shrimp truck.

The blonde looked a lot happier now, and although the team were a little tired from their three-day operation in Australia, they had insisted on coming straight out to have lunch together. They had coordinated with the Australian authorities, and whereas the investigation was still ongoing as it would probably take a while to track the abducted kids down, the whole thing now felt like it was winding down to a close, the stress ebbing away completely.

Their flight had landed in Hawaii early that Sunday morning, and Danny had swung by to collect Steve without even dropping off his bag, picking Nahele up and taking them straight to the beach. Meka and his wife and son, Kono and Chin, and Rachel and Grace, were all there waiting, and the weird mismatched little family that Steve and Danny were slowly forming around them all spent the morning on the beach and then settled in to have lunch.

Danny appeared at Steve's shoulder and placed his food on the table before swinging Billy down and watching him run off to his dad, giggling. As he sat down next to his lover, he kissed Steve's cheek and pressed the line of his body up against the brunette's.

"Missed you," he grinned. And god he had, every second.

He couldn't wait to get home with Steve, especially now that Nahele wasn't in the spare bedroom, and show him exactly how much. His skin practically itched with the need to be intimate with his man again, like Steve was some sort of addiction, but he'd managed to contain the junky in him for a little while longer in favour of the team all chilling out together and supporting one another.

"You already told me that, Danno," Steve chuckled, wrapping an arm around his back.

"I know, but I'm gonna keep telling you, because it's true..."

Grace made a mock barfing sound at the two grown adults being mushy with one another, and Rachel laughed at her daughter and smacked her shoulder gently for teasing her father as she arrived at the table.

"We're all glad it's over now, Danny," she smiled at her ex husband and his fiancé, "I'm glad everything has worked out."

"Yeah, we'll still be working in conjunction with the Australian authorities for a bit, but it's looking positive. We're also setting up links with other countries we think the kids may have been taken to. It might take a while, but we'll get there..." The blonde popped food into his mouth and relaxed against Steve, feeling proud of his team's achievements.

They were such good people, tireless workers, and they'd helped him through so much these past few days.

The mechanic locked eyes with Rachel and smiled, knowing full well she hadn't been just talking about the case. She had been concerned for Steve and his relationship with Danny, and the effects the stress might have on them, and Steve appreciated that endlessly; to know that, despite everything, she was on their side... It was wonderful.

She gave him a wink which he mirrored, while Danny munched away, oblivious to the silent conversation the two brunettes were having.

"You still okay to shut up shop for the day on Friday, bruh?" Chin asked as he took his seat on the other side of Steve, and they were all joined around the table by the rest of the large group.

"You sure I'm invited to this thing, Chin? I wouldn't want to intrude," Steve glanced between the Hawaiian cop and his lover.

"Maggie's family said they wanted Five-0 to be there for the wake, and they asked us to bring our partners because they know you guys got the tough side of it too, looking after us," Danny squeezed his thigh under the table, "You don't have to come, but they just wanted to thank you all too."

The team leader had spoken with Mr and Mrs Cho on the phone while he had been in Australia, and they had expressed their gratitude to Five-0 despite the fact their daughter had been lost. Mrs Cho had even said that at least if Maggie had to die, her passing had meant that other children might be saved. Amanda, the girl they had already found on the island, and Talia, the second child who Cantera had snatched to fulfil the latest order, were now back with their real parents as other children would soon be. At least Maggie's death had some meaning.

Danny had teared up at that notion, and though he didn't believe in gods or the afterlife, he still sent a silent thank you out to that little girl for her sacrifice. If she hadn't lost her life, Cantera's operation might never have been exposed.

"I'll be there," Amy said, smiling at her husband, "Meka was moody as anything at home, and I know why. These people, losing their child, it's unimaginable... I want to come and pass on my love to them." She squeezed Billy tightly in her lap as he munched on his dinner, unaware of his mother's emotions.

Steve nodded. "If I'm welcome, I'll be there."

"Nothing's keeping me away," Danny said solidly.

"What, boss? Not even spiders?" Kono giggled.

Danny's head whipped up from his meal and he glared at the young woman. "Shut your mouth, Kalakaua," he growled.

"What? What's this? Did I miss something?" Steve asked, already grinning. Judging by his fiancé's reaction, this was something he'd enjoy.

"No, absolutely not," Danny hissed, but Chin and Meka were already betraying him by laughing along with Kono.

"So, boss man here made the mistake of reading up on Australia's native bugs on the plane over," she gestured to Danny, who was crossing his arms over his chest and rolling his eyes.

"I just want to be aware of what I'm dealing with," he grumbled.

"Oh, like sharks and falling coconuts, right baby?" Steve teased.

"Shut up, you're not helping," Danny gave him a mock glare.

Meka piped up. "When we get to the Aussie's HQ, we're all standing in the reception area waiting for someone to come show us to the briefing room," he snorted at the memory and had to compose himself, "And this spider winds its way down from the ceiling and lands on Danny's collar."

Danny rested his elbows on the wooden table and put his face in his hands, while Chin came in with his part of the story. "It's just this little black house spider, perfectly harmless, and I lean in to flick it off him. He goes 'what the hell are you doing?' and I say 'oh, there was just a spider' and he goes lolo!"

"The _spider dance_!" Kono hooted and started waving her arms about, and cackled as Meka stood up from his seat and did an excellent impression of someone practically ripping their shirt off to get rid of an imaginary insect.

Steve almost spat out his food and the whole table erupted into laughter, while Danny still had his face hidden. The mechanic patted his back.

"Aw, poor baby," he cooed.

"I thought it was one of the poisonous ones, okay?" he grouched through his hands.

"Best part is," Chin added, wiping a tear away, "I'd already gotten rid of it!"

They all burst out laughing again. Danny's voice was muffled by his hands, but still clear enough to be heard by the whole table.

"I hate you all..."

It only resulted in more laughter, and Danny eventually uncovered his blushing face and threw a screwed-up napkin at Kono.

"I can demote you, y'know!"

"Daniel's never particularly liked spiders," Rachel laughed, "What is it you said about them? They're sneaky?"

"Tricky little bastards," Danny grumbled, and then looked at Billy, Grace and Nahele, "Don't use that word, that's a bad word."

The kids just cackled at him while Steve hugged him closer affectionately, and the blonde went back to eating so he could ignore the embarrassment.

Suddenly Danny jerked upright, speaking with his mouth full. "Oh babe, I forgot to tell you, I got ahold of that number you asked for," he dug a scrap of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Steve.

"Oh um, thanks baby," Steve took it and stared down at the digits, stomach twisting a bit in fear and excitement.

They held so much ambiguity, like Schroedinger's Cat, and he knew he was going to have to open the box.

He ate the last of his shrimp, and then disentangle himself from Danny and the picnic bench, before wandering off a short distance to make the call. It was now or never, and he didn't want to let himself put things off.

The phone on the other end rang a few times, and a young woman answered. He hadn't heard her voice since they were teenagers, and yet it was immediately recognisable.

" _Hello_?"

He paused, having to swallow hard, and suddenly not really knowing what to say.

" _Hello_?" came the impatient prompt.

Steve cleared his throat. "Mare?"

There was a long silence on the other end, and the ex-con had to pull the phone back from his ear and check the connection to make sure she hadn't hung up.

"Mary, is that you?" he pressed.

" _Steve_?" She sounded unsure, and he tried to read into the tone of her voice to work out if this was a welcome call or not, but with so little to go on it was difficult to tell.

"Yeah, it's me... I wanted to... I..." He sighed, frustrated at himself for not working out what he'd wanted to say in advance. There was so much, too much, everything, and yet nothing felt right. "How have you been?"

Mary Ann snorted and made a slight choking noise. " _Seriously? It's been what, over a decade if not more since you last tried to contact me, and you're starting with 'how have you been?' Is_ that _how were doing this?_ "

"How else am I supposed to start it, Mare?" Steve rubbed at his eyes with his free hand. Maybe this had been a mistake. She was angry, of course she was.

" _Well how about trying for 'I'm sorry' for starters_?" she snapped.

"I _am_ sorry, Mary. I've been wanting to call for forever, but you changed your number and... and I was scared, okay?" He leaned forward against the railing overlooking the ocean and put all his honesty into his voice. "I want to try and build bridges, and I'm sorry I left it this long..."

She went quiet again, and he waited patiently because she deserved that at least. Finally, she spoke again.

" _I heard you got out of jail early_ ," she said, begrudgingly.

So she'd been keeping tabs on him? That was a good sign.

"Yeah, it's a long story but... Mary, I've turned my life around. I'm not the guy I used to be. I've done stuff, and who I am now doesn't erase that but... but I'm better, I'm _trying_ to be better, and I guess I just wanted you to know that..."

" _Okay... so what, you're a stand up citizen now?_ " She didn't sound convinced, he never expected she would be. He was going to have to prove himself to her.

"I'm not claiming to be perfect here, but I own a garage in Waikiki now, a proper, honest business," he said, picking at the wooden rail, "And I have people, _good_ people, around me. And... I'm getting married, Mare. I wanted you and Aunt Deb to know that I've changed, and I would love it if maybe you came out to see us?"

" _Wait wait wait, you're getting_ married _?_ " Mary sounded more surprised at that than anything, and Steve laughed.

"Yeah, I met someone. His name's Danny and, god you've gotta meet him Mary, I think you two would get along brilliantly." Okay, they'd probably drive one another up the wall, actually, but what the hell.

" _He? What? You're with a_ guy _?_ " Mary sounded like she was choking on something, and Steve rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well surprise, your big brother is bi," he grumbled self-consciously, "Can I send you a photo?"

" _Yeah, do it_ ," came the amused reply, " _This is something I have to see! The guy who turned the head of lady-killer McGarrett, huh?_ "

"I told you not to call me that," Steve groused as he hit the buttons to send the picture to her phone. He had been well known in his teens for dating lots of girls while he was on the football team, and Mary and a few of her friends had given him that nickname. Of course, his sister hadn't known at the time that he was also seeing a fair few guys, though he wasn't about to go telling her that quite yet.

He'd hated the teasing name at the time, but hearing it now and the way they had just fallen back into their sibling banter despite the discomfort, made it so much better. Just as long as she didn't hear Danny call him Smooth Dog... the two of them would have a field day over his nicknames and probably make his life hell.

The picture he sent was his favourite one of him and Danny – well, his favourite one for public consumption anyway – sitting in their regular booth in Sidestreets. Danny had that gorgeous smile gracing his lips, looking at the camera with one arm thrown around Steve's shoulders. The brunette was facing Danny, his eyes closed and his nose squashed into the side of the cop's face with a stupid grin on his face, arms wrapped around his lover's torso.

" _Oh wow_ ," she said, obviously having received the image, " _He's kinda cute! He got a brother?_ "

Steve laughed, thinking about the Williams family photo he'd been shown a while back.

"He does, but they look nothing alike," he chuckled, "Listen Mary, I really mean it. I'd love for you to come out here and see us," he looked back across the beachfront to watch his friends all gathered around their food, laughing and joking, "You just wouldn't believe the friends I've made..."

She paused again, considering his request. " _Maybe, Steve,_ " she said eventually, " _A lot has changed for me too... I'll see what I can do. But this doesn't mean you're forgiven for abandoning us,_ " she added firmly.

"No, of course not. I get that," he nodded to himself. He'd known it wouldn't be that easy, and he was actually looking forward to the challenge of winning his sister back. She would be truly amazed at the group of people he hung around with now, the family he'd been given through Danny, and when she found out they were all cops? Well, he wanted to see the look on her face for that one.

He wanted to tell her everything, all about Danny and Grace and Five-0, more about his business and the Marquis, but it was too much to throw at her all at once. They would have to catch up properly, maybe do a video chat, and he wanted to find out what she and Deb had been up to, make sure they were both doing well. Not now though, this was only their first tentative point of contact, and he didn't want to scare her off by being too intense.

" _Okay then_ ," she said, and he was pretty sure he could hear the hint of a smile in her voice, " _I'll be in touch_."

"There is one more thing, Mary," he dropped in quickly before she could hang up, "I'm sorry to ask but, well I was wondering... does Aunt Deb still have those old photo albums from when we were kids?"

They pulled up outside Nahele's new sheltered accommodation and both men climbed out of the car to let the boy get out of the back seat.

"Are you sure you're happy here?" Danny smiled at him. He honestly wouldn't mind the kid living with them for a bit longer, he'd already grown attached to him after only a couple of days, and he was such a sweet boy. He also wanted to make sure Nahele wasn't just moving out to avoid inconveniencing them; Danny wanted the boy to be safe and comfortable.

"Yeah, I'm good Danny, mahalo," he returned the smile and blushed a little, "I just wanna, you know, make it on my own for a bit. Now you guys have got me into this better place, I think I got a real head start. But I wanna prove I can support myself."

Danny remembered the almost exact same words coming out of Steve's mouth when the brunette had left Halawa and come to stay with him. He'd been so determined to prove himself that he'd avoided asking for help and gotten himself into trouble, and Danny hoped Nahele would be a little more open to seeking aid.

He really was a younger version of Steve, and the Jersey man was glad the kid now had people to support him in life.

"Well we're always around the corner," Steve patted the roof of the car, "And I'll come pick you up at eight tomorrow morning, right here okay?"

The mechanic was going to miss having Nahele around. It had been nice, while Danny was gone, to have someone to talk to.

"You need anything, call us okay?" Danny pulled Nahele into a hug, "And you're still babysitting for Grace when you're old enough. I expect family discount."

Nahele pulled back from him and blushed, though Steve wasn't sure if that was due to the 'family' thing or because of the crush the kid had on his fiancé.

"Sure thing. See ya, guys," Nahele waved and began to walk away.

"Eight o'clock sharp," Steve pointed at him meaningfully and then climbed back into the passenger seat.

Danny chuckled as he took his own seat. "The kid overslept _once_ , Steven," he grinned.

He started the engine, glancing over at Steve.

"You're a good man, you know that right?"

The ex-con creased his brow and looked at his lover. "Uh… okay?" He still didn't feel entirely confident agreeing to that statement. He knew he tried, every single day, to be the man he knew he should be, and the man that Danny deserved. Maybe that was good enough.

"I mean it babe, look at that kid," Danny waved his hand towards Nahele as the boy made his way into the building, "Look what you've done for him. He's a different boy from when I left! Just these few days and you've given him this confidence and happiness. He's a kid again, and he's holding his head high, and _you_ did that."

The blonde squeezed his knee, and Steve put his own hand on top. " _We_ did that, Danno. You took him in as well."

"Just take the fucking credit when I give it to you, huh?" Danny grinned, but the look in his eyes was full of meaning, "Cars, Nahele, me… You like fixing broken toys, huh?"

Steve cocked his head. "You were never broken," he said.

Danny shrugged and looked out of the windshield, biting his lip. "Maybe… but I don't think I was ever really whole until you came along either…"

The mechanic squeezed his hand again, waiting until his fiancé turned back and met his gaze. Neither of them said the words, because they could see it in one another's faces. Love, pure and simple and undeniable.

Danny cleared his throat. "How uh, how did the call with your sister go?" he asked tentatively.

"Good, actually... but let's not talk about the right now," Steve leaned towards his lover and let the heat bleed through into his eyes, "Let's talk about how we're going home to an empty house after you've been away for several days, and about how I'm gonna screw you until you can't walk straight, huh?"

Danny bit his lip and looked away from Steve, brow creasing in contemplation.

"What? What's wrong?" the ex-con asked.

"Oh nothing... I'm just wondering if it falls under fair police usage if I switch the lights and sirens on so we can get home quicker?"

Danny barely had time to drop his keys in the bowl before his ass was grabbed with one hand and Steve's mouth was on his neck from behind.

He had just about resisted using the siren, though only through sheer will power.

The blonde hummed in pleasure while Steve reached out and dropped Danny's bag onto the couch without even looking. Now his hand was free it slid over Danny's stomach, bunching the material in his fist and tugging the shirt out of his waistband to work underneath it and dig fingers in to his abs.

"I missed you..." he growled in Danny's ear and the cop shuddered with want.

"God, I missed you too, Steve..." Danny leaned back into his body and tilted his head to expose his neck. He hadn't bothered wearing a tie on the way home from Australia, and no small amount of that was due to the fact it seemed to please his man.

The mechanic nuzzled Danny's open collar out of the way and bit down lightly on the tendon that connected to his shoulder, while the hand that had been on his ass joined the first on his stomach.

"Undo your pants for me," he spoke into Danny's throat to draw another shiver from his lover, and moaned happily when Danny complied, slowly unbuckling his belt and opening his fly before smoothing his hands over Steve's.

The brunette bit his neck harder, and at the same time delved both hands downward into Danny's slacks, under his boxers, to massage his already-hard cock.

"Oh god, Steve..." Danny moaned and arched his back, rubbing his ass against Steve's erection through his jeans. He squeezed the ex-con's wrists, and Steve quickly decided he still had way too much power.

He pulled his hands out from inside Danny's clothing and grabbed his belt, spinning him to face him and then backing him into the wall. He took Danny's wrists and held them to the wall firmly either side of his hips.

The detective groaned and bucked forward, but Steve thrust his crotch against Danny's almost painfully to imply he should give his fiancé full control. He growled deeply against the other man's throat and dug his teeth in.

Danny felt electrified, every hair standing to attention and every nerve ending firing. He whined in submission and took a deep breath, relaxing into Steve's grip. God, did he need this...

"Good boy," Steve complimented and eased off a little, tracing the line of Danny's neck up to his ear with his tongue and sucking on the lobe gently, "Now get into the bedroom."

Danny needed no further instructions and, once Steve released his grip and stepped back, the blonde kicked off his shoes and socks and headed straight for the bedroom, unbuttoning his shirt along the way. Steve was right behind him, also ridding himself of his sneakers and socks.

Danny got to the bed and turned around, letting his hands fall to his sides where his fingers flexed in anticipation. He'd already decided he was going to do as Steve told him today, because though he was desperate for the man and challenging him was always fun, he knew that Steve had been wanting him too. There was no need to push the ex-con any further, not when he already looked like he was going to devour him.

The taller man stood in front of him and licked his lips as his dark eyes drifted down his body. Steve gently slid his hands under Danny's open shirt and let his fingers drift lightly over his sides.

Danny let out a choked noise because it felt like he was on fire, and even that tiny contact had him breaking out in goosebumps. Steve chuckled and moved slowly around to the detective's back, trailing his hand over Danny's stomach as he did, and when he was behind him he grasped his shirt at the shoulders and yanked it off him viciously.

Danny gasped, feeling like he was on the edge of a knife. When Steve did this, darting from one extreme to the other – fast and slow, soft and sharp – it always got his heart racing that bit faster. His lover was unpredictable, dangerous, and he loved it.

Steve curled his fingers into Danny's waistband and pulled his pants and underwear down, kneeling as he did to help him step out of them. He ran his tongue over one pert ass cheek, nipped the other one gently, and revelled in the tiny reactions it elicited in his fiancé.

He adored teasing Danny, keeping him on edge like this, and he would never get tired of that gorgeous, rounded butt.

Steve desired his lover so very much, loved every inch of his body and wanted to map it with his tongue. He knew Danny loved his rough touch and dark words, and he was more than happy to give him the full experience today. Hell, he needed it himself, wanting to take control of that gorgeous man and put him through his paces.

"Look at you," he purred as he kissed his way up Danny's spine, "Waiting for me like a good little bitch... you want me to fuck you, huh?"

Danny's skin prickled, and he gulped hard as he heard Steve pull open the bedside drawer behind him and guessed he was bringing out the lube. Seconds later, slicked up fingers slid down the valley of his ass cheeks to rub over his hole.

"Mmm god yes," he whispered, widening his stance a little to help his lover gain access.

Steve dropped the bottle onto the night stand and brought that hand around to rest on Danny's chest, lacing fingers into his chest hair and tugging slightly.

"Good," he murmured into the blonde's ear, "Because I'm gonna make you scream."

He moved fast as lightning to bite down on Danny's shoulder and make him cry out, and at the same time he thrust a finger deep into the cop's ass and caused him to arch his spine. He held Danny to him, enjoying the power that came from being fully clothed while his fiancé was completely bared to him, and dug his teeth in just to listen to the filthy noises that spilled from the other man's lips.

"Steve, oh god... Fuck!" Danny had to dig his nails into his own palms to keep from reaching out as Steve added a second finger and pumped in and out of him, scissoring them and stretching him.

His cock twitched with every growl, every huff of air or moan from the brunette holding him steady.

He whined again when Steve removed his teeth and fingers, only to have three pushed inside him and the mechanic's mouth move to his ear.

"You're loving this, aren't you Williams?" Steve growled in his ear.

The wanton tone in Danny's voice when he replied twisted in Steve's gut, pushing him further towards the point where he would no longer be able to resist taking him.

"Yes, Steve..."

He pulled his fingers out and strutted around to stand in front of Danny. The blonde's head was bowed and his eyes were closed as he panted from Steve's hot words.

"Look at me," the ex-con whispered, and Danny's raised his ice blue eyes to meet his gaze. His expression was full of hunger, lips parted and eyes heavy-lidded, but he somehow still managed to look defiant.

The tiny, exciting challenge issued in his eyes lit Steve's fuse, and he let out a roar and grasped Danny by the waist, dragging him around to throw him against the wall forcefully.

Danny's adrenaline levels spiked as all of the air was knocked from his lungs, and he closed his eyes and held his arms up to the wall in a show of obedience. Steve immediately plastered his own hands over Danny's wrists, lifting them above his head, and bit at his lips to win the kiss he initiated, grinding his covered crotch against his lover's naked hip.

He pulled back after a minute and gazed at his fiancé, lips reddened and swollen, wrecked and breathless; he was beautiful when he was owned like this.

Steve stepped away and pulled his t-shirt over his head, throwing it onto the bed, and then put one hand on the back of Danny's neck and the other on his shoulder.

The downward pressure on Danny's shoulders had him sinking to his knees, and he looked up at Steve and bit his lip, waiting for his next order.

"Take me out and suck me," the ex-con commanded hoarsely, and he tangled the fingers of one hand into Danny's hair.

The detective kneeled up and used his nimble fingers to undo Steve's flies, fighting the shake from the adrenaline rush and pulling the jeans down along with his boxers. He swallowed Steve down whole into his throat and groaned around him when the taller man tugged on his hair.

"Oh Jesus Christ, your mouth, baby," Steve moaned and pulled out to slide back in again slowly. His lover felt hot and wet and glorious around his dick, and he leaned against the wall and guided himself in and out of the cop's mouth.

Danny used his hands to help Steve step out of his clothing and then ran them up the back of his legs, licking and sucking at the head of his dick whenever he pulled back far enough, before taking him back in deep each time.

Then suddenly Steve was pulling out and grasping Danny's rib cage just under his arms, bringing him up with such speed he physically lifted him from the ground before thumping him back into the wall. The blonde's natural reaction was to place his hands on Steve's shoulders to support himself, and he grinned and threw his legs around the brunette's waist to haul him in close.

Steve put one hand on the wall, pressing his body right up against Danny's and biting along his collarbone. The other grasped one ass cheek to pull them apart, and he lined up and slowly thrust upward into the detective's waiting hole.

"Oh fuck, Steve!" Danny cried out and pressed his head back into the wall as his lover's cock slid inside of him, filling him completely.

Steve bottomed out and stopped still for a moment, just soaking in the feeling of Danny, tight and hot around him. He licked up the other man's neck, tasting the salt of the sweat forming on his skin, and Danny tilted his head down so that they could kiss.

It was languorous and slow, their breath huffing across one another's cheeks as they licked into each others mouths and wrestled gently with their tongues.

Steve moved both hands to Danny's ass while he leaned them into the wall, and he rocked his hips to pull out and drive back in deep.

Danny gasped against his lips and lost concentration on the kiss as his sweet spot was hit, and he became lost in the sensations provided by this position, of Steve drilling so deep into his body.

He clawed mindlessly at his fiancé's shoulders and the back of his head, writhing against him and pushing his pelvis forward to take as much of him as he could stand.

Steve went back to lathering attention on his chest, and he bit and sucked marks into Danny's pecs through his fine chest hair, flicking his tongue over the hardened nipples and pinching them between his sharp teeth to tear little squeaks from the blonde.

Every upward drive into Danny's body felt like heaven, sending sparks of electricity dancing through his veins, and he could feel his lover's grip digging bruises into his body. The teeth nipping at his chest made him jolt and moan, and he was loving every second of the extra-rough treatment.

Steve could feel his thighs begin to shake with the strain of holding them both up, so he braced his shoulders and heaved them away from the wall, turning them so Danny landed on his back on the mattress with Steve on top. They both bounced from the impact, and it forced Steve deeper into his lover.

"Oh god!" Danny shouted hoarsely and used his ankles to crush their bodies together while he gripped at the sheets. His voice was breathy and raw, and that alone made the ex-con's stomach do somersaults, but his words scratched at the primal parts of his brain. "That's it Steve, right there! Fuck me _hard_!"

The brunette growled low in his chest and got his knees up on the bed, right up under his fiancé's ass. He tilted the other man's hips upward, took hold of one ankle to spread his legs out wide, and slid the other firmly around Danny's throat.

He hammered into him, gritting his teeth and throwing every ounce of his strength into fucking Danny into oblivion while the Jersey man cried out below him and dug his fingers into Steve's shoulders. He relinquished control to the wild animal within himself, taking what he needed and using Danny's ass for his own wicked pleasure.

The bruising force of Steve pounding into him took over every cell of Danny's body as hot, damp flesh collided, and when he managed to open his eyes for the briefest of moments before screwing them shut again, the sight he witnessed was unbelievably erotic.

Steve's face was the epitome of intensity; sweat beading on his creased brow and eyes squeezed shut as he let loose on his victim, the sinew in his neck stretched out and his pulse visibly thundering under that tanned, slick skin.

He was a beautiful force of nature, with Danny at his mercy.

The detective felt himself teetering right on the edge of his release, and after going untouched for so long it only took a few glides of his own hand down his shaft to topple him. He came hard and screaming Steve's name, bucking and writhing, fireworks going off in his brain as he gasped for oxygen and his cum spilled over his stomach and chest.

The sight of Danny climaxing under him, and his muscles clamping down on his cock, tore Steve's orgasm from him and sent him reeling. He shot his seed into his lover, throwing his head back and snapping his hips down and forward to bury himself at the deepest point possible, and for a few moments he found himself completely unable to breathe.

Then he was collapsing to one side and rolling off Danny's prone form while he floated on the blissful tide of happy hormones.

Danny ached all over, and it was the fantastic kind of ache that only came from a really good, deep fucking.

Steve had been right; he doubted he'd be able to walk straight, at least for the rest of the day, and that felt wonderful.

They both lay there for a few moments while their minds caught up again with their bodies, and Steve eventually rolled up onto his hands and knees over Danny to dip down and nuzzle at his neck.

"Jesus, Danno," he whispered, voice hoarse and rough, "That was _just_ what I needed..."

"Mmm..." Danny hummed, still waiting for the endorphins to dissipate from his system. "I missed you," he repeated, grinning, and they both laughed together.

"Don't ever leave me again, that's an order," Steve teased and kissed Danny lazily on the lips before snuggling in next to him and pulling him in to play little spoon to Steve's big spoon.

"I told you baby," Danny murmured sleepily as he drifted off, fully sated and content, "I'll always come back to you..."


	8. Bound

"If anyone asks, I'll deny I ever said this," Danny grinned as he closed the passenger side door of the Silverado and looked at the surfboards strapped into the bed at the back, "But that was actually a lot of fun."

He had kept his promise to Kono, even though it had been practically forced out of him, and Danny, Steve, Grace and Nahele had all spent their Saturday surfing with her in one of her favourite spots. He had also finally been able to fulfil part three of Steve's birthday gift, even if it was a couple of weeks late, and they had eaten malasadas on the beach, leaning against one another in peaceful companionship. He was tired but happy, and seeing the kids enjoy their leisure time had been wonderful.

The wake for Maggie Cho the previous day had gone as well as it could have, and they had also received news from Australia that another child had been tracked down and would be reunited with their real family within a matter of days. All in all, Danny was in a very good mood.

Steve chuckled. "I'll find a way to get you to repeat it, probably under pain of torture."

He watched Danny tug their surf gear from the back seat. His hair was still fluffy after the ocean had washed any trace of product from it, and his open-collared flannel shirt and tight fitting jeans made him look absolutely edible.

"Good luck with that," the blonde snickered and swung their bag over his shoulder. As they approached the front porch, he noticed two boxes hidden to one side. "Hey, you order something babe?"

Steve's eyes widened with excitement, and he grabbed up the boxes to take them inside. "I know _exactly_ what these are," he said cryptically.

Danny unlocked the door and threw his keys into the bowl, and his fiancé walked through to the kitchen to place the parcels on the table while the cop dropped the bag in the living room and followed him.

"I told you not to order car parts online, Steve..." he warned, guessing that was what they must be.

As he looked over his shoulder, he got a glimpse of the packaging; one had a postmark from LA and had a hand-written address for them, which Steve slid to one side, and the other with a printed label had an unidentifiable company logo on it.

"They're not for the car. Hand me a knife, baby?" Steve asked, and Danny went to the drawer to grab something for him to cut the tape open with.

"What is it, then?" Danny focused on the one Steve was currently tackling, his curiosity getting the better of him as he watched his lover excitedly slit the box open.

"I got you a present," Steve grinned devilishly, "I think you're gonna like it..."

The cop had warned him against online shopping on multiple occasions, but there was no way Steve was venturing into a store to buy one of these in person. He had been browsing a reputable website when he'd come across this particular item, and there was no way he could resist purchasing it. He was pretty sure Danny would get a kick out of it; he was already getting hard thinking about it himself.

Danny leaned in to try and get a better look, but his fiancé folded the box shut again. "You got me a gift I'm not allowed to see?" he raised his eyebrows at Steve, "That's doesn't seem fair..."

"Oh, you'll get your gift..." Steve purred, moving his body to insert it in between Danny and the table, "But I just need you to do something for me first."

"What's that?" the detective licked his lips when Steve's hand ran up his thigh. His lover looked delicious in his jeans, and the dark blue t-shirt that stretched over his shoulders and pecs, and now he had an intriguing sparkle in his eyes which was making Danny's stomach do funny things. His excitement about what might be in the box was growing, making blood rush south.

Steve slipped his fingers under Danny's chin and tilted his face up a little further. "Go into the bedroom and strip down for me," he said, sensual voice practically a whisper, "I'll be through in a minute."

He leaned in and kissed Danny delicately on the lips, enjoying the tiny happy noise the blonde emitted, and when he leaned back his lover still had his eyes closed.

"I promise it will be worth the wait," he added.

"Hmm... okay," Danny eventually opened his eyes and looked up at Steve, "Don't keep me waiting too long," he grinned.

Steve watched him walk away, and then went back to opening the parcel. He unwrapped the gift from its protective tissue paper and slipped it through his fingers, making sure he understood how it fit, and then headed for the bedroom.

He peeked through the open doorway to see his lover sitting on the bed, undressed aside from his boxers and leaning back on his hands with his ankles crossed. He would look wonderfully relaxed if it weren't for the way he was wiggling his toes to expend his pent up energy.

Danny was never still for a second – he even twitched and mumbled when he was asleep – so this wasn't unusual. In fact, the only times he was completely inactive was when he was fucked out and high on endorphins and sex, and Steve was more than happy to arrange that right now.

"Close your eyes and stand up," he said, holding the item behind his back and out of view as he entered the room.

Danny did as he was told, anticipation dancing through his veins. His lover enjoyed keeping him on his toes, but unexpected surprises like this made things even more special.

"You've already given me a fantastic birthday present two months ago, if you remember, babe," he said, shutting his eyes and listening to Steve cross the room, feeling one of his fiancé's hands gently turn him to the side, "What's with this, huh?"

"It doesn't have to be someone's birthday to do something special," Steve said smoothly, standing behind him, "And I wasn't going to wait until Christmas to try _this_ out when I saw it..."

Danny felt a wide leather cuff slide around one of his wrists, metal clips fastening it in place with enough pressure to be solid but still comfortable. Steve kissed him softly on the back of his neck, making him hum as his hands were brought to the small of his back where the other wrist was given the same treatment, and the two were clipped together to be held in place crossed at his back with his shoulders drawn back slightly.

Cuffs were nothing new; he'd been tied to the headboard in various positions before now, had his hands free-cuffed in front of him, behind him, above his head. So Steve had got him some fancy new ones, that was nice... but why was his fiancé finding these ones extra sexy? What was so special about this present?

He was about to ask as much when his unspoken question was answered. Steve lifted Danny's chin, and another wide, padded leather strap slipped around his throat and was buckled in place. Something was locked on to the cuffs, and his wrists were pulled a little further up his back while he heard a click at the back of his neck.

"Oh Jesus..." he whispered, every nerve ending in his body tingling as the collar was adjusted slightly.

Steve's breath on the shell of his ear made him shudder and whine, and the brunette's wet tongue traced the edge gently.

The ex-con let go of the strap that now ran down Danny's spine, taking away what little support he'd been supplying, and sighed at the way the weight of the cop's arms pulled on the leather connecting them to his collar and forced his lover's head back, making him grunt against the strain. Danny shifted his shoulders and lifted his wrists to give himself the slack again, but it made his back naturally arch to cope with the short strap and thrust his chest and ass out.

The position it put him in was slightly uncomfortable for Danny physically, but not enough to detract from any potential fun. Plus, it gave him the firm impression that he was now very much under Steve's control, and his already-hard cock twitched with eagerness.

He swallowed past the thick collar, giving it an experimental tug with his arms, and his voice quivered slightly when he spoke. "Okay, this is new..."

"Do you like it, baby?" Steve's voice was practically dripping with heat, and it sent a shudder down Danny's spine.

In reality, he knew that if he said no that Steve would take it off him straight away; if he was unhappy with this level of helplessness or if the binds hurt him, he could say the safe word and they'd be off in an instant... but the filthy, deviant parts of his brain that needed to be used and abused told him that he could struggle all he liked, scream and fight and try to escape, and he wouldn't be able to. He was at Steve's mercy, his bitch, something for him to play with... and god, those thoughts felt unbelievably erotic.

There was no way he was saying the safe word today. He wanted to be his master's slave, and this new toy made him feel the part even more so than usual. Just the knowledge that he couldn't do anything but submit was a huge turn on, and he knew he was leaking precum without even being touched.

He loved it when Steve held him by the throat, and this collar meant his lover could do exactly that without even touching him. Somehow that made Steve so much more powerful in Danny's eyes, made him want to kneel and worship his god, and holy shit did that work for him.

All those thoughts rushed through his brain, but the only verbal answer he could manage to Steve's question was a broken, needy moan.

"I'll take that as a 'yes', shall I?" Steve chuckled, running the flat of his tongue over Danny's bare shoulder and raising goosebumps.

His fiancé's skin still tasted of the ocean from their morning of surfing, and that made him even more delicious than usual.

Steve moved around in front of Danny, gazing down his body and taking in every inch of him, his erection straining against the fabric of his tight black boxers. The mechanic felt his own cock do the same, pressing at the tight restriction of his jeans.

"Look at you," he breathed out, praising the man in front of him who gave himself willingly, "God you're beautiful, and you're all mine..."

Danny whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut, and Steve could practically feel the need rolling off the detective. Danny was loving this, his muscles trembling with exhilaration, and that made the brunette lick his lips and hum happily. He leaned in to Danny and ran a single fingertip down from his lips, over his collared throat and chest, his stomach and navel, to stop just above the waistband of his underwear.

"All mine," he whispered roughly, and Danny's knees almost buckled under him.

"Yes, fuck yes..."

Steve groaned and couldn't resist licking the skin under the hinge of Danny's jaw, just above where the collar covered him. The way the device pulled him to attention was magnificent, and Steve kicked the blonde's ankles apart a little more and stepped back to take in the view.

"Holy fuck, you're gorgeous," he sighed. He was all wide chest and taut abs, and he'd never looked so tempting. He was aware he was repeating himself, but Steve just couldn't get over how this toy accentuated every perfect element of his man. "I could just stare at you all day..."

Danny lifted his arms again so he could lower his head enough to gaze at his lover. "That would be a bit of a waste of your time when you could be fucking me," he bit his lip, and the raw need shone through in those baby blue eyes, "How about you put me to good use?"

Steve felt like he was going to choke on his own excitement, releasing a frustrated whine of his own. "Oh god Danny, do you even know what it does to me when you say things like that?"

He stepped right up close to Danny again, letting his lips hover less than an inch from the detective's but forcing himself to hold back from taking what was his, punishing them both while his fingers ghosted down Danny's hips.

"I know exactly what it does to you," Danny whispered seductively, "And I also know that I get punished when I misbehave..."

With that, the blonde stepped forward and took Steve's mouth with his own, biting down on the ex-con's lower lip with the blatant intention of pushing him to the limits of what he would allow.

Steve gripped his lover's hips hard, crushing their erections together and grinding against Danny while he indulged in the kiss. Then he stepped up his game, let the kiss become harsh and sharp and full of danger, and he tugged his lip from between Danny's teeth to bite at the cop's with vicious passion.

Danny managed to turn his face away, only for Steve to nip at the sensitive skin under his ear, and the taller man reached around his back to yank hard on the strap and pull his head right back. The Jersey man let out a sound that was half gasp and half moan, and it made Steve grin wolfishly.

"Bad boy," he growled against the leather, sending vibrations through his captive's body to twist in his gut.

Danny was suddenly dragged around, and he lost his footing and grunted as he was thrown to the mattress on his front, his boxers yanked from his body. The bedside drawer was ripped open and he heard the lube bottle cap snap open before his cheeks were pulled apart and the cool liquid was squirted directly onto his hole.

He fought against the cuffs, but they only pulled his head back, and Steve's finger pushed roughly inside him before he could even try to move away. He cried out, loving the ferocity of his lover's actions. The mechanic's other hand clasped over his mouth tightly as he straddled Danny's thighs on the bed and leaned down over him.

"Shut up," Steve hissed in Danny's ear, "If you make too much noise I'll just fuck you until I come and leave you here wanting, you understand?"

He didn't mean a word of it, not really, but the menace in his voice was hot enough in itself.

Danny's answer was to open his mouth and take one of Steve's fingers inside, sucking on it hard.

Steve's eyes rolled back in his head at the sensual feeling – one finger in Danny's mouth and one opening his ass up ready – and his body ached to be naked and fucking Danny right that second.

He pushed two fingers into his ass, pumping carefully, and when his fiancé bit down on the one in his mouth Steve ducked down to dig his teeth into Danny's shoulder in retaliation. The blonde gasped and released his hand, so Steve raised himself up and pressed down on his lover's lower back to restrict his squirming while he graduated to three fingers.

He loved it when Danny misbehaved and battled against him, it made his eventual victory all the sweeter. It was exactly why they had a safe word, so they could be as volatile as they liked when the mood took them – pushing and fighting, biting flesh and pulling hair, being physically at war with one another while inside loving every second of the vicious intimacy – and know that they weren't really going beyond one another's limits.

He would never actually hurt Danny, never go beyond the pain threshold of his lover, however high it may be, because for them it was all about trust. He knew the cop would tell him if he was going too far, and Danny knew Steve would stop in an instant if asked.

Danny bit down on the sheets to stifle his filthy groans and pressed his ass up towards Steve as best he could. His movements were restricted by the bonds and the other man's weight on his back and legs, so all he could do was twist his shoulders and try to stay quiet.

He was ready for Steve to take him, but his man obviously wanted to take his time preparing him. That was torture in itself, and he whimpered into the mattress and screwed his eyes shut. He couldn't stay quiet any longer.

"Steve, god... please..."

Steve thought about telling Danny to shut up again, keep that level of control over his behaviour, but hearing him beg was so much better than forcing his silence, sparking the carnal beast within him to life.

He had made Danny stay quiet before, once when they'd gone out for lunch together and he'd dragged the detective down a back alley to fuck him against the wall. Steve had challenged him not to make a sound, and the strain of holding his tongue even in the moment of orgasm had exhausted Danny and caused him to bite the inside of his lip so hard it bled.

Danny had loved it; the ownership, the achievement of gaining so much respect from Steve for his unbelievable self control, and the way it had reminded him of their experiences in Halawa when he'd had to keep quiet for fear of the guards discovering their night time activities. Steve had celebrated every second of the hot back alley encounter, just knowing that Danny loved him that much to give himself so wholly and follow his commands to the letter.

There would be no silence today though, not when he could plead in that broken voice and set a fire in Steve's belly that threatened to envelop him in flames.

He pulled his fingers out and crouched down over his lover, laying a soft kiss on his cheek before nestling his face into the crook of Danny's neck and breathing in deep. The smell of ocean salt and leather and the gorgeous, familiar scent of his fiancé all intermingled in his lungs and made his head swim.

He allowed himself a moment to absorb this new tempting combination, until Danny groaned and wriggled impatiently under him.

"Mmm, you're hungry for me, aren't you?" he purred, "You can't wait for me to fuck you raw, huh?"

Danny closed his eyes and moaned indecently at just the thought of his man taking him in this position.

"Well that's not how this is gonna happen, baby, 'cause you've disobeyed me and I need to teach you a lesson..." Steve's laugh had an evil edge to it, and Danny thought he might come just from the threat of danger it held.

His lover was unpredictable, and his heart rate soared just knowing he wasn't able to do a thing about the punishment Steve decided to lay out for him.

Steve took hold of the collar and cuffs, and Danny was hauled to his knees on the bed. He was shoved and manhandled until Steve was leaning against the headboard and Danny was part way down the mattress and straddling the ex-con's thighs. He was facing away from Steve so his lover would be able to watch his ass taking his cock as Danny rode him.

Steve took hold of his dick with one hand, and the strap joining the collar and cuffs with the other, using it to guide Danny back and downward until the mechanic's cock was pressed to his slick entrance. He moved the first hand to massage the blonde's ass cheek roughly, and hummed happily, leaning forward to lick a wet line up over Danny's shoulder blade.

"This is a view I could get used to," he sighed, admiring the masterpiece before him; his lover, bound and helpless, the curve of his back and the way his ass jutted out just asking to be fucked, his muscles straining against the leather straps that held him.

He pulled down firmly on the strap, and sank Danny down onto his achingly hard cock.

Danny cried out wordlessly as Steve's dick filled him, just slowly enough to be classed as torture. He finally bottomed out inside him, and the brunette released the toy so he could run his hands over Danny's curves and observe him lustfully.

He felt so tight and hot around Steve's cock, and the ex-con knew this punishment was going to be heaven and hell in equal measure, for both of them.

Steve took hold of the strap again but didn't tug on it, he just wanted to have the ability to wrest control at a moment's notice.

"Fuck yourself on me," he growled.

Danny groaned at the command, his insides twisting with arousal, and he used his thighs to lift himself up and rocked his pelvis, beginning a slow and steady pace. Steve's dick sliding in and out of his hole felt glorious, and he was just starting to enjoy having his autonomy and the ability to decide the depth and speed when suddenly he was forced down by Steve's grip on the collar.

He took his fiancé's cock deep, gasping at the sharp movement, but when he tried to raise up again he was held in place.

"No. You do as I tell you," Steve hissed ominously, and yanked hard on the collar until the cop stopped his struggles. Danny riding him had felt amazing, but this was all about showing his lover who was boss, so he held him down and forced his head back even further. "You're gonna ride me slowly, you know how I like it."

Danny whimpered and pulled against the restraints again, but had to force himself to relax in the knowledge he wouldn't win this. Steve's grip loosened a little on the strap, and when he was free to move he lifted himself carefully.

His movements were gradual and drawn out, and he made sure to roll his hips on every downward drive so Steve's cock would slip over his prostate and send forked lighting up his spine. It wasn't enough to bring him to orgasm, it never was at this speed, but it created a tight feeling of desperation in his belly which he both hated and relished, knowing that it would feel so much better when he could take what he needed.

The mechanic bit down on his lip as he watched Danny's ass move on his cock. It was a glorious sight; his gorgeous, rounded buttocks, his tight hole swallowing his dick over and over, the sheen of sweat that prickled across his skin with the effort of having to restrict himself, and the undulations of his spine as he pleasured his lover. He was tantalizing, mouth-watering, and the lewd, sensual gasps and moans that were drawn from Danny's mouth as he threw all his effort into tormenting himself at the pace Steve desired.

He let him go on for as long as he could stand it himself, his own finish aching for attention in his belly.

"You're so fucking beautiful," Steve sighed, gazing from under lowered eyelashes, "You were made for me to fuck you..."

He used his free hand to lace into those soft, blonde locks and tug lightly.

Danny couldn't take much more of this. The long, drawn out torture, the dirty words dripping from Steve's lips, it was too much to take.

"Steve, god... _please_... I can't..." He clenched his jaw and strained at the leather cuffs until they dug into his forearms, "I _need_ you..."

There was no way Steve could resist that begging, and he roughly released his grip with both of his hands and spanked Danny's ass sharply. The cop took in a sudden breath and moaned in relief, knowing that that was his signal to take what he needed.

Danny knelt up again, rolling his pelvis and plunging back down onto his fiancé's cock. They both moaned as he picked up a hard and fast rhythm, sweat beginning to pour down his spine as Danny worked them both into a frenzy. His thighs burned with the effort, unable to support himself with his hands bound and his neck pulled back, gasping in deep gulps of oxygen.

"Oh fuck, Danny…" Steve moaned, running his nails down his slick back, "Baby, you feel so good…"

The Jersey man could only groan in reply, feeling lightheaded now that he was free to throw himself into the delicious sensations, working himself hard in reaction to the almost-constant strain of fighting his body's needs before. He could feel his release building inside him after being on a low simmer for so long, and his movements became jerky and he chased his orgasm frantically, ragged breathing reaching the point of hyperventilation.

The feeling of Danny sliding up and down his cock so vigorously was bringing Steve to his climax quicker that he'd thought, and he wanted his lover to come before him. He encircled his arm around Danny's waist, putting all his strength into halting his movements and pushing up into him until he was buried within his channel.

Danny let out a desperate cry as he was restricted again, bowing his spine fiercely in response to the denial of his completion. Steve licked his palm and wrapped his free hand around Danny's neglected cock, his calloused fingers, lubricated by precum, sending sparks of ecstasy through the Jersey man's body, and Danny shouted his lover's name as he thrust forward through his closed fist with what little leeway he had.

Steve clamped his teeth down on his fiancé's shoulder and pumped his straining dick, holding Danny tightly to him and denying himself the stimulation as well as his lover.

"Steve… Steve, fuck… I'm gonna… I'm gonna come… baby…" Danny's wretched, destroyed voice came out between pants as he laboured to obtain any sort of movement on Steve's cock, and just hearing him break that way brought Steve even closer to the edge.

The ex-con grunted against the pressure and squeezed his eyes shut, biting harder and stroking faster.

The detective felt like he would burst, his nerve endings sizzling with electricity with every drag of Steve's palm against his over-sensitive skin. His climax coiled at the base of his spine, growing exponentially tighter until it finally completely enveloped his body, his world falling away.

Danny came hard, going off like a grenade in Steve's arms, his name torn from his lips in an explosive shout. The way he flexed and contracted around Steve's cock ripped the brunette's orgasm from him, euphoria crashing over him in a wave as he spilled his heat deep inside his lover, yelling out his name.

When he came back to himself, Steve slid his hands gently up Danny's arms, one going into his hair as he lay back limp against his chest.

"Oh god, baby… that was fucking fantastic," he panted, "I love you so much…"

Danny's head lolled against his cheek, and when he didn't respond Steve squeezed his arm.

"Baby? Danny?"

Danny sat with his back to the headboard, head in his hands trying to combat the dizziness, only lifting it when Steve pressed the cool glass of water against his fingers. His lover had released the strap securing his bonds together before propping him up and dashing off to get the water.

"Here, drink this," he sat next to him on the mattress and ran a loving, concerned hand through his lover's messy hair, "You need to rehydrate. Can't have you fainting on me again…"

Danny took a deep gulp of water before wiping his mouth and glaring at Steve.

"Passed out," he repeated, "I _passed_ _out_ … don't call it fainting, makes me sound like some wilting flower."

Steve snorted. "I'm sorry baby," he smiled indulgently, eyes twinkling, "I'm sorry I screwed you so hard you _passed out_."

"I should have known you'd see that as some sort of victory," Danny grouched, finishing the rest of the water and putting the glass down, "You tortured me until I collapsed, are you proud of yourself?"

He tried to look angry, but he could feel the corner of his lips tugging upward in spite of himself.

Steve stood and held out a hand, pulling Danny up and steadying him against his solid frame.

"Yes, actually," he teased, kissing the blonde's forehead, "You need me to carry you through to the living room, or can you cope with that yourself?"

"Fuck off," Danny pushed away from his chest and heading for the door, grabbing his robe off the hook along the way, "I'm fine."

He wasn't mad really, just a little embarrassed at the episode, and hoped to distract Steve from any further mocking. He'd been pushed to the point of desperation during that sex session, and when his orgasm had finally hit he had experienced a moment of complete delirious bliss before he had briefly lost consciousness. If that wasn't enough to make him feel like an idiot, he didn't know what was.

The required diversion came in the form of the other parcel, which was still on the kitchen table next to the opened box.

"You gonna show me what this is?" He picked it up and shook it, and something heavy inside shifted slightly.

Steve took it off him and held it to his chest protectively, having slipped his own robe on. "Go sit down on the couch, I'll show you," he smiled, looking excited.

"Is this something else you're going to use to try and kill me?" Danny grumbled, curling his legs under himself on the cushions and loosening the leather cuffs on his wrists until he could slip them off and drop them on the coffee table. Steve put the package down momentarily so he could unbuckle the collar still around his lover's throat and throw it to land with the cuffs before ripping into the tape holding the box shut.

"No," he grinned, pulling out two photo albums from the bubble wrap inside, "C'mere, I wanna show you something. Mary sent these over, they're photos of my family."

Danny flashed him a smile. "That's great babe, do you think she'll come see us? And your Aunt Deb?" He knew how important making up with his family had become to Steve, and seeing that happiness sparkle across his handsome features made the Jersey man's heart beat harder in celebration.

The mechanic nodded. "It's early days, but it looks promising," he said, hopefully.

Steve opened the larger album and flipped over a page or two until he found what he was looking for. It was a page filled with a large photo of a boy and a man, standing either side of the Marquis in a large garage.

He slid it across his lap so that Danny could see it better. "Here, look. This is me when I was about thirteen. And that's my dad, John McGarrett."

Danny stared at the image, open-mouthed and heart in his throat. He was beginning to feel a little faint again.

Steve was immediately recognisable, even so young, but that man… His mind flashed back to three weeks beforehand.

" _It's not for sale," the older man said firmly, running his hand over the hood of the Marquis, "She's been with me for a long time, and I don't want to give her up…"_

 _The Jersey man's mouth twisted in displeasure. He'd come a long way with Chin, whom he'd asked to hang back in the Camaro so the potential seller didn't feel threatened by two men showing up unannounced on his doorstep, and it would be so disappointing if he came away with nothing for it. Especially when they'd managed to track the car down, and he'd invested his hopes in getting hold of it for Steve._

 _They would have called ahead to ask about buying it, but the couple who owned it were apparently very much off-grid, with no phone to speak of._

" _About twenty years, right?" Danny gave him an understanding smile, but only received a suspicious glare in return. He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "Listen, the reason I'm looking for a Marquis…_ this _Marquis specifically, in fact… it's for my fiancé whose dad used to own this exact car. You see, the guy you bought it off, he purchased it in an estate auction, and he only owned it for a couple of months before selling it on… that auction was to sell off items from a couple who died…"_

 _The other man cocked his head to one side, his hazel eyes softening as he listened to the blonde's explanation. "And they were your girlfriend's parents?" he asked._

" _Uh, boyfriend…" Danny corrected gently._

" _Oh," the car's owner looked a little surprised, maybe not realising Danny had a male partner, "Oh, I see."_

 _Danny plowed ahead. "And yeah, Steve used to work on it with his dad, and I just know it would mean so much to him if he could finish the work they started."_

 _The man crossed his arms over his chest, looking to be deep in thought while he pressed his lips together and gazed at his car. At least he was considering things and not just kicking the detective off his property. Finally, he spoke._

" _Your partner… he'll look after her? Fix her up?"_

 _Danny nodded, hopeful. "He owns a garage, loves to work on cars. He's got a great talent with these things, and this car would get extra special attention," he chuckled, "He'd look after her."_

 _The guy walked around the car slowly, fingers tracing a large dent on the wheel arch. When he reached the other side of the vehicle he looked up and locked eyes with the cop._

" _Alright," he nodded, "You can have her… but on one condition."_

 _Danny brightened hesitantly. "What's that?"_

 _The owner looked down at the Marquis fondly._

" _Just make sure that when he works on her… that he thinks about his family, and he does it with love…"_

Danny swallowed hard, tentative finger sliding across the protective film over the photo until it reached the taller figure.

"That's… that's your father?"

Steve gave him a confused look. "Yeah, that's what I said… why?" He had felt his lover tense up, and now he was acting very strangely.

"Steve…" he murmured, feeling light-headed, "That's… that's the guy I bought it off…"


End file.
